SAINT  GREGORY 
Sftflte  'GREAT 

susSiffiSHStTr  1 . • • • •••••" 


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I 


THE  LIFE  OF 

ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


$ibil  #b«tnf: 

GUUELMUS  LANDERS, 

Censor  Theol.  Deput. 


Jmprtmi  pottsl : 

^ EDUARDUS, 

Archiep.  Dublitiensis 

Hiberntce  Pritttas. 


Dublini,  die  22da  Novetnbris, 
1923. 


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£aint  (Srefloirg  tf)c  ($reat 


The  Life 

SB. 

of 

St.  Gregory  the  Great 


BY 

A SISTER  OF  NOTRE  DAME 


NEW  YORK 

P.  J.  KENEDY  & SONS 

44  BARCLAY  STREET 
Printed  in  Ireland 

BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 
CHESTNUT  HILL  MASS. 


Printed  in  Ireland 
at 

che  c-Atboc  puess 

Dublin 


BOSTON  COLLEGE  LIBRARY 
CHESTNUT  HILL,  MASS. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

PAG3 

I. 

ROME  IN  HIS  BOYHOOD 

- 

9 

■s*n. 

ni. 

A GOODLY  INHERITANCE 

- 

- 27 

MONK  AND  BUSINESS  MAN  - 

- 

- 42 

IV. 

AT  CONSTANTINOPLE 

- 

- 58 

V. 

ABBOT  OF  ST.  ANDREW'S 

- 

- 73 

VI. 

THE  PROCESSION  ON  ST.  MARK’S 

DAY 

- 91 

VII. 

PASTORAL  RULE 

* 

- 102 

VIII. 

WITH  THE  BISHOPS  OF  THE  WEST  - 

- 120 

IX. 

TAMING  THE  TEUTONS 

- 

- 142 

X. 

MISSIONARY  MONKS 

- 

- 163 

XI. 

AN  ABSENTEE  LANDLORD  - 

- 

- 181 

XII. 

THE  THINGS  THAT  ARE  CESAR’S 

- 

- 205 

XIII. 

THE  EMPEROR’S  BISHOP 

- 

- 225 

XIV. 

SERVANT  OF  THE  SERVANTS  OF  GCD 

- 238 

L 


FOREWORD 

BY  THE  ABBOT  OF  BUCKFAST 

THE  distinction  between  intellectual  Catho- 
licism and  popular  Catholicism  has  been 
made  more  than  once  in  an  invidious 
spirit  of  destructive  criticism. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Catholicism  of  the 
crowd  is  something  very  different  from  the 
Catholicism  offered  to  the  intellectual  elite. 

We  need  not  reject  in  principle  this  distinction ; 
but  there  is  no  earthly  reason  for  our  opposing 
popular  Catholicism  to  intellectual  Catholicism. 
Christianity  has  indeed  an  immense  attraction 
for  what  is  best  in  man’s  intellect,  but  it  has  also 
a distinctly  popular  side.  It  is  a life  full  of  poetry 
and  romance,  replete  with  practical  issues;  it  has 
all  the  charm  of  true  myths  without  any  errors ; 
it  is  a religion  which  a whole  people  may  make 
into  a racial  and  national  thing,  in  the  true  sense 
of  the  terms,  with  traditions  and  heroes  and 
wonders  and  miracles  far  beyond  the  imagination 
of  the  ancient  mythologies.  If  Catholicism  be 
truly  the  presence  of  the  Son  of  God  amongst 
men,  the  marvellous,  far  from  being  the  unusual 
and  exceptional,  ought  to  be  the  natural  atmos- 
phere in  which  a Catholic  people  has  its  being. 

It  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  St.  Gregory 
the  Great  is  the  most  perfect  embodiment  of 
that  happy  union  of  intellectual  and  popular 


4 


FOREWORD 


Christianity.  St.  Gregory  is  truly  one  of  the 
Church’s  great  Doctors,  a worthy  successor  of 
St.  Augustine  of  Hippo  in  the  supremacy  of 
mind. 

St.  Gregory’s  contribution  to  Christian  theology 
is  immense.  But  St.  Gregory  is  also  the  author 
of  the  book  of  the  Dialogues,  that  wonderful  and 
fascinating  compilation  of  the  pious  legends  of  his 
period.  St.  Gregory  is  the  great  administrator 
whose  genius  for  ruling  no  man  has  ever  doubted, 
yet  he  is  best  known  to  us  as  the  teacher  of  sacred 
music,  surrounded  by  juvenile  choristers  whom 
he  initiates  into  the  mysteries  of  ecclesiastical 
psalmody.  The  Holy  Ghost,  under  the  figure 
of  a Dove,  is  perched  on  his  shoulder  in  order  to 
keep  him  from  erring,  not  only  in  matters  of 
Faith  but  also  in  matters  of  musical  harmony. 

The  voluminous  writings  of  St.  Gregory,  his 
vast  epistolary  activities,  reveal  to  us  a Catholic- 
ism both  intellectual  and  popular,  which  has  not 
changed  since  his  day.  In  every  page  of  the 
Dialogues,  for  instance,  you  find  anecdotes  which 
fit  to  a nicety  into  the  Catholic  life  of  an  Italian 
village  of  our  own  day.  We  act,  we  pray,  we 
believe,  we  fear,  we  hope,  as  did  the  Catholics 
all  over  the  world  in  the  days  of  St.  Gregory. 
We  say  Masses  for  the  dead,  we  expect  the 
deliverance  of  souls  from  Purgatory,  we  believe 
in  the  miraculous,  in  small  things  and  in  great, 
as  did  the  people  who  figure  in  St.  Gregory’s 
Dialogues.  Our  infidelities  to  grace  and  our 
shortcomings  are  the  infidelities  and  shortcom- 
ings of  monks  and  nuns  and  other  good  people 
who  tried  their  best  for  the  love  of  Christ  in  the 


FOREWORD 


5 


Italian  towns  and  villages,  of  which  St.  Gregory 
makes  such  an  elaborate  and  accurate  enumera- 
tion. Many  go  straight  to  Heaven  at  death,  in 
the  days  of  St.  Gregory,  perhaps  oftener  than  we 
dare  to  hope  in  our  own  days.  Many  there  are 
w7ho  are  seen  in  the  flames  of  Purgatory  asking 
for  Masses  and  confessing  the  peccadilloes  that 
made  them  unworthy  of  a speedy  ascent  to 
Heaven.  St.  Peter  is  seen  assisting  at  the  death 
bed  of  some  favourite  client  of  his,  whilst  on  the 
other  hand,  some  careless  Catholic  is  frightened 
out  of  his  wits  by  the  presence  of  the  old  enemy 
when  the  last  hour  approaches.  There  are 
haunted  houses,  and  houses  full  of  angelic  in- 
fluences ; there  are  miracles  of  the  first  magni- 
tude, and  there  is  divine  intervention  in  favour 
of  the  Christian  housewife  whose  hens  are  being 
stolen  by  a wily  fox.  In  a word,  St.  Gregory’s 
fertile  pen  portrays  for  us  a complete,  all-round, 
healthy  Catholic  life,  such  as  the  Middle  Ages 
have  known  it,  such  as  we  love  it  ourselves.  The 
background  of  all  that  multitudinous  life  of  in- 
tensely practical  Christianit}^  is  the  monumental 
assertion  of  the  intellectual  truths  of  our  Faith. 

Anyone  who  makes  us  love  St.  Gregory  the 
Great  does  our  Faith  a great  service.  The 
present  well-written  volume  cannot  fail  to  endear 
the  great  Pope  to  every  reader.  But  we  ought 
not  to  stop  there : we  ought  to  read  St.  Gregory 
himself.  There  are  good  English  translations 
of  large  portions  of  his  works.  The  Dialogues,  for 
instance,  are  accessible  to  everyone.  St.  Gregory’s 
charm  is  contagious.  You  seem  to  be  living  in 
the  sixth  century,  and  you  feel  that  you  have  met 


6 


FOREWORD 


in  your  own  lifetime  the  very  class  of  people 
whom  St.  Gregory  describes  so  well. 

The  great  Pope  was  surrounded  on  all  sides 
by  the  ruins  of  the  Roman  Empire  ; the  Roman 
Eagle  had  lost  “ all  its  feathers.”  Gregory  felt 
this  great  downfall  most  keenly,  as  he  was  a 
Roman  of  the  Romans.  Yet  there  is  a constant 
vein  of  optimism  in  his  view  of  things.  There 
is  a kind  of  playfulness  of  divine  mercies  which 
gives  a charm  even  to  such  reprobate  barbarians 
as  Totila,  king  of  the  Goths.  The  heathen  Bar- 
barians were  putting  Catholic  Italy  to  fire  and 
sword  ; and  Catholic  Italy,  full  of  faith  in  God’s 
mercies,  smiled  at  the  Barbariaus  and  converted 
them  to  the  Faith  of  Gregory,  the  successor  of 
Peter. 

Auscar  Vonier,  O.S.B. 

Abbot  o)  Buck/ast. 


CHAPTER  I 


ROME  IN  HIS  BOYHOOD. 

SAINTS  are  always  an  interesting  study. 
We  ourselves  are  groping  upward  in  the 
darkness  towards  the  heights  which 
they  have  scaled  and  kept ; and  we  are  fain  to 
help  our  steps  along  the  slippery  crags  by  the 
footholds  which  their  hands  have  carved. 
The  interest  intensifies  when  the  saint  we  study 
is  a man  of  action  whom  the  world  cannot  even 
affect  to  despise,  a man  who  has  stamped  his 
impress  upon  his  time  and  upon  our  time,  a 
man  in  whose  writings  we  may  read  the  story 
of  his  own  soul,  and  learn  things  worth  knowing 
of  the  men  with  whom  he  dealt. 

Such  a saint  is  Gregory,  the  great  pope  whom 
God  gave  to  His  Church  in  her  need,  at  the 
close  of  the  sixth  century. 

The  men  of  his  generation  conceived  of  him 
as  far  and  away  their  foremost  man,  his  in- 
fluence owned  alike  by  Byzantine  Emperor 
and  Lombard  lords,  by  Franks  in  Gaul  and 
Visigoths  in  Spain.  His  firmness  and  for- 
bearance stamped  out  heresy  and  schism  in 
Vandal  Africa.  His  letters  followed  his 


10 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


missionaries  to  the  coast  oi  Kent,  urging  them 
to  encourage  whatever  was  harmless  in  the 
time-engrained  customs  of  those  heathens  of 
good-will.  Leave  them,  he  advised,  their  beer 
feasts  at  Yuletide,  and  (in  the  form  of  good 
roast  beef)  the  oxen  fattened  for  the  sacrifice. 
But,  at  the  same  time,  lure  them  gently  to  the 
love  of  Christ  by  the  story  of  the  son  of  God,  a 
Babe  for  their  salvation  and  crying  with  cold 
in  the  manger  at  Bethlehem. 

This  was  the  secret  of  St.  Gregory's  power. 
Deep  down  in  the  heart  of  every  man  with 
whom  he  had  to  do,  he  saw  some  latent  good 
and  fostered  it.  And  thus  he  roused  the 
Romans  round  him  to  reorganise  order  out  of 
chaos,  and  restore  all  things  in  Christ.  And 
thus  he  tamed  the  German  tribes,  singling  out 
what  was  best  in  their  feudalism,  and  breathing 
into  it  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel.  We  cannot  read 
aright  his  life,  unless  we  have  a clear  idea  of 
the  world  into  which  he  was  born. 

Rome  had  long  out-lived  her  palmy  days. 
To  the  eyes  of  Gregory  she  sat  on  her  Seven  Hills 
a discrowned  queen  dying  of  old  age.  " In 
former  years  vigorous  with  youth,  strong  to 
multiply  the  race  of  men,  but  now,  weighed 
down  by  the  very  weight  of  years,  and  hurried 
on  by  increasing  maladies  to  the  very  brink  of 
the  grave."  Elsewhere  he  applies  to  Rome  the 


ROME  IN  HIS  BOYHOOD 


ii 


words  of  the  prophet  to  Judea  : Enlarge  thy 
baldness  as  doth  the  eagle.  “ Rome  enlarges 
her  baldness  like  the  eagle,  since  in  losing  her 
people  she  has  lost,  as  it  were,  all  her  plumage. 
The  feathers  have  fallen  even  from  the  wings 
with  which  she  used  to  swoop  upon  her  victims. 
For  all  the  mighty  men  are  dead  hy  whom  she 
made  the  world  her  prey.”  And  into  this 
decaying  civilization  swarmed  the  barbarians, 
jostling  one  another  for  their  place  in  the  sun. 

When  Constantine  the  Great  removed  the 
seat  of  empire  from  the  Tiber  to  the  Bosphorus, 
he  meant  his  new  capital  to  act  as  bulwark 
against  the  Persian  king.  But  the  real  danger 
came,  not  from  voluptuous  Asia,  but  from  the 
hardy  race  of  tough  fighters  who  dwelt  amid 
the  forest  swamps  and  bleak  uplands  north  of 
the  Danube  and  east  of  the  Rhine.  Already 
in  the  second  century  Tacitus  had  warned 
his  countrymen  against  the  manly  virtues 
of  the  Teuton.  “ The  freedom  of  the 
Germans  is  the  thing  to  dread,  and  not  the 
despotism  of  the  Persian  King.  Long  may  it 
endure  and  harden  into  a habit  that,  if  they 
cannot  love  us  they  may  at  least  go  on  hating 
one  another.  Fortune  can  give  us  nothing 
better  than  that  our  enemies  disagree.” 

Even  while  Tacitus  wrote,  Rome  was  bar- 
gaining with  the  barbarians  to  fight  her  cam- 


12 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


paigns.  Soon  her  best  legions  were  German 
mercenaries,  officered  by  leaders  of  their  own 
race  and  choice.  And  the  legions,  as  we  know, 
controlled  politics  in  the  West,  selling  the 
empire  to  the  highest  bidder,  and  murdering 
their  puppet  in  the  purple,  when  he  would  not 
or  could  not  meet  their  demands.  It  was 
German  meeting  German,  when  in  the  fourth 
and  fifth  centuries  hungry  tribes  migrated  into 
the  Empire,  lured  by  “ the  goodness  of  the 
land  and  the  nothingness  of  the  people  ” and 
seeking  shelter  from  the  Slavs  and  Huns 
pressing  on  their  rear. 

The  Franks,  the  most  capable  of  assimilating 
civilization,  merely  crossed  the  Rhine  and 
adopted  the  language  and  the  religion  of  the 
conquered  regions.  Gaul  lost  nothing  by  the 
change  of  masters.  This  is  the  solitary  instance 
in  history  of  Germans  fraternizing  successfully 
with  Celts  and  Latins.  The  Saxons,  on  the 
other  hand,  remained  heathen.  A few  tribes 
sailed  across  the  North  Sea  in  the  wake  of  the 
Angles  and  the  Jutes.  But  the  greater  numbei 
filled  up  the  gaps  in  the  Fatherland  left  by 
Angles,  Suabians.  Lombards  and  Burgundians. 
They  enlarged  their  frontiers  also  by  settling 
in  Alsace.  The  word  Saxon  is  w’rit  large 
to-day  all  over  the  map  of  Germany. 

The  other  tribes  headed  South  and  in  theii 


ROME  IN  HIS  BOYHOOD 


13 


arrogance  counted  Christianity  as  part  of  their 
place  in  the  sun.  The  Emperors  had  made 
the  Arian  heresy  fashionable.  The  Arians  had 
a code  of  morals  far  from  rigorous  and  baptised 
their  neophytes  without  probation.  So  Arians 
they  all  became. 

At  last  the  Empire  of  the  West  collapsed. 

In  476  the  Herule  Odoacer  murdered  the 
last  of  the  imperial  mannikins  and  proclaimed 
himself  king  of  Italy.  To  avenge  this  crime, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  rid  himself  of  trouble- 
some neighbours,  the  Emperor  of  the  East 
commissioned  Theodoric  the  Ostrogoth  to 
depose  the  usurper.  Theodoric  crossed  the 
Alps  with  two  hundred  thousand  of  his  country- 
men, restored  order,  and  assumed  the  title  of 
king  with  the  sullen  acquiescence  of  the  Court 
at  Constantinople.  This  was  in  493. 

He  fixed  his  capital  at  Pavia  to  keep  in  touch 
with  the  northern  frontier,  and  for  the  thirty- 
three  years  of  his  reign  the  peninsula  had  peace. 
One  third  of  the  land  was  held  by  the  Goths  in 
military  tenure.  The  natives  kept  their  own 
laws,  their  own  language,  their  own  religion. 
At  Rome  the  citizens  had  bread  and  games, 
the  Senate  was  soothed  with  high-sounding 
titles,  a public  architect  was  salaried  to  keep  in 
good  repair  the  city  aqueducts  and  monuments. 

All  went  well  while  Theodoric  lived.  All 


i4 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


might  have  gone  well  after  his  death  in  526 
had  the  Goths  been  true  to  his  daughter 
Amalasunth,  had  the  Emperor  Justinian  dealt 
fairly  with  the  unfortunate  and  gifted  princess. 
But  openly  he  proclaimed  himself  her  protector, 
and  secretly  he  schemed  for  her  death,  The 
rebels  strangled  her  with  her  veil  in  535,  and 
the  murder  furnished  the  pretext  for  the 
campaigns  in  Italy  of  Justinian's  generals, 
Belisarius  and  the  exarch  Narses. 

Rome  changed  hands  more  than  once  during 
the  four  years  fighting  that  followed.  In  540, 
the  year  St.  Gregory  was  born,  the  fields  had 
lain  fallow  for  two  years.  The  people  fed  on 
acorns  or  starved  to  death  on  the  open  moor, 
and  the  very  vultures  turned  in  disdain  from 
the  fleshless  corpses.  The  Greek  garrison  in 
the  city  included  Moors,  Huns,  Persians  and, 
of  course,  Germans.  Military  discipline  was 
extremely  lax,  the  imperial  officers  greedy  of 
gain.  The  soldiers  compounded  for  their 
worst  offences  by  a money  payment,  and  so 
robbery  usually  accompanied  deeds  of  violence. 

On  the  other  hand,  Totila,  King  of  the  Goths, 
gained  everywhere  the  goodwill  of  the  peasantry 
by  his  strict  observance  of  the  rules  of  war. 
He  had  his  troops  well  under  control.  There 
was  no  lawlessness.  Every  deed  of  frightful- 
ness was  deliberately  planned. 


ROME  IN  HIS  BOYHOOD 


15 


Towards  the  close  of  545  Totila  laid  siege  to 
Rome.  Bessas,  the  imperial  general,  held  the 
city  with  three  thousand  troops.  A brave 
man  was  Bessas,  but  utterly  callous  to  the 
sufferings  of  the  poor.  There  was  grain  in  the 
public  granaries,  but  the  market  price  of  pro- 
visions rose  with  the  pressure  of  famine,  till 
even  the  wealthiest  could  scarce  afford  the 
price.  A quarter  of  wheat  sold  for  thirty 
pounds.  Dogs,  rats  and  cats  were  dainties 
difficult  to  buy.  The  poorer  citizens  lived  on 
nettles  which  they  cooked  with  care,  to  prevent 
the  blistering  of  their  lips  and  throats.  The 
alms  of  the  church,  the  whole  income  of  the 
noble-hearted  among  the  richer  citizens  served 
but  as  a drop  in  the  ocean. 

A mass  meeting  was  held  on  the  Palatine. 
The  little  Gregory  could  see  it  from  his  home  on 
the  Ccelian  Hill.  He  could  hear  the  famished 
howl  of  the  desperate  crowd  : 

“ Feed  us  or  kill  us  or  allow  us  to  leave  Rome." 
But  Bessas  suffered  none  to  depart  unless  they 
paid  him  well  . 

Belisarius  made  valiant  attempts  to  raise 
the  siege.  With  the  few  troops  at  his  command 
he  forced  Totila’s  position  on  the  Tiber.  Bessas, 
however,  failed  to  assist  him  by  a sally.  Per- 
haps he  could  not.  His  garrison  was  on  short 
rations  ; the  civilians  refused  to  man  the  walls  ; 


i6 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


the  sentries,  if  they  chose,  slept  at  their  posts 
for  the  officers  no  longer  went  their  rounds. 
At  length  on  the  17th  of  December  546,  four 
Isaurian  soldiers  turned  traitor  and  admitted 
the  enemy.  And  as  Totila  marched  his  men 
in  by  one  gate,  Bessas  fled  for  his  life  by  another. 
He  had  not  even  time  to  remove  or  hide  his 
ill-gotten  hoard.  The  remnant  of  his  horse- 
men rode  hard  at  his  heels. 

The  Goths  paced  slowly  through  a network  of 
deserted  streets — the  silence  unbroken,  save 
for  their  own  shouts  and  blare  of  trumpets,  or 
by  the  occasional  shriek  of  some  agonizing 
citizen  whom  they  dragged  from  his  hiding 
hole  and  killed.  Totila  gave  stern  orders  that 
no  woman  should  suffer  hurt  or  insult.  Nor 
did  he  approve  of  indiscriminate  slaughter. 
Onfy  the  senators  and  the  leading  citizens  did 
he  doom  to  death. 

These  unfortunates  with  their  families  sought 
sanctuary  in  St.  Peter's  great  basilica.  Was 
the  Senator  Gordianus  one  of  those  who  knelt 
round  the  tomb  of  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles  ? 
And  did  his  little  son,  Gregory,  lift  up  his 
innocent  voice  in  prayer  ? The  boy  was  seven 
years  of  age,  quite  old  enough  to  understand 
what  was  going  on. 

A copy  of  the  Gospels  in  his  hand,  the  Arch- 
deacon Pelagius  stood  forth,  to  speak  Totila  fair. 


ROME  IN  HIS  BOYHOOD 


17 


" God  hath  made  us  your  subjects/'  he  told 
him,  “ and  as  your  subjects  we  have  a right  to 
be  dealt  with  in  mercy.” 

Totila  left  them  their  lives,  but  sent  them  to 
fortresses  in  the  Campagna.  The  few  hundred 
citizens  who  survived  the  siege  were  also 
ordered  out  of  Rome.  The  deserted  city  was 
given  over  to  pillage,  some  buildings  were  set 
on  fire,  a third  of  the  circuit  of  its  walls  de- 
stroyed. It  was  rumoured  that  the  Gothic 
king  meant  to  turn  the  capital  of  Christendom 
into  a sheep-walk. 

The  rumour  reached  Belisarius  on  his  sick- 
bed, and  he  wrote  in  protest  to  Totila  : 

“ If  you  win  the  war,  Rome  will  be  the  fairest 
jewel  in  your  crown.  If  you  lose,  Rome  spared 
will  plead  your  cause.” 

Totila  stayed  the  destruction  and  withdrew 
his  troops.  He  came  back  in  549  to  find  corn- 
fields waving  in  the  city  squares.  This  time 
he  laid  himself  out  to  win  hearts — issued  orders 
for  rebuilding,  gave  a chariot  race  in  the  Circus 
Maximus  at  his  own  expense,  and  invited  all  the 
exiles  to  return. 

Most  of  the  senators  accepted  ; for  Rome  was 
now  the  safest  place  for  a Roman  noble.  The 
scene  of  the  war  had  shifted,  first  to  Sicily  then 
to  Sardinia,  and  the  fame  of  Totila's  victories 
at  last  roused  the  Emperor  to  effective  action. 

B 


18  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


The  chief  command  at  Ravenna  was  given  to 
N arses,  a puny  little  man  with  brains,  who 
knew  Italy  well,  both  land  and  people.  More- 
over he  was  an  orthodox  Catholic,  popular  with 
the  soldiers,  and  had  the  name  of  being  the 
only  minister  who  could  get  from  Justinian  all 
the  money  he  asked  for. 

A great  battle  took  place  in  552.  Six 
thousand  Goths  lay  dead  on  the  field,  and 
Totila  mortally  wounded  was  borne  away  to 
die.  Within  a month  his  blood-stained  tunic 
and  his  jewelled  helmet  were  laid  at  the 
Emperor's  feet.  Within  the  twelvemonth 
the  Ostrogoths  as  a nation  disappeared  from 
history. 

Certain  Greeks,  who  love  to  belittle  their  own 
great  men  by  praising  the  enemy,  write  highly 
of  Totila  and  cite  traits  of  his  chivalry  and 
largesse.  Even  St.  Gregory,  who  looked  upon 
him  as  “ always  evilly  disposed  ” admits  in 
his  Dialogues  that  “ he  was  not  so  cruel  as 
before  he  had  been  ” after  his  visit  to  Monte 
Cassino  in  542,  when  the  great  St.  Benedict 
foretold  to  him  the  things  which  afterwards 
came  to  pass. 

“ Much  evil  dost  thou  do,  much  evil  hast 
thou  done,"  said  the  abbot  to  the  king. 
“ Refrain  thyself  now  from  unrighteousness. 
Thou  shalt  enter  Rome.  Thou  shalt  cross  the 


ROME  IN  HIS  BOYHOOD 


*9 


sea.  Nine  years  shalt  thou  reign,  in  the  tenth 
thou  shalt  die.” 

Later  the  man  of  God  told  the  Bishop  of 
Canossa,  who  came  to  him  for  comfort  amid  the 
tribulations  affecting  the  Church  : 

" Rome  shall  not  be  utterly  destroyed  by 
strangers,  but  shall  be  so  shaken  with  storms 
and  lightnings  and  earthquakes  that  it  will 
fall  to  decay  of  itself.” 

St.  Gregory,  who  had  the  incident  third 
hand,  adds  his  comment.  “ The  mystery  of 
this  prophecy  we  now  behold  clear  as  day.” 

The  Rome  of  the  Caesars  was  indeed,  in  his 
boyhood,  mouldering  away.  There  was  still 
a senate,  with  duties  dwindled  to  the  regulation 
of  weights  and  measures.  But  the  sea  and 
two  mountainous  peninsulas  divided  the  city 
from  the  seat  of  empire.  Rome  now  paid  her 
taxes  to  Justinian  at  Constantinople.  She 
was  not  even  at  the  head  of  the  Italian  province 
but  took  her  orders  from  Ravenna  on  the 
Adriatic  coast. 

From  his  father’s  house  on  the  western 
escarpment  of  the  Coelian  Hill,  the  boy  Gregory 
could  look  across  the  Appian  way  to  the  mass 
of  ruins  covering  the  Palatine.  In  the  reign 
of  Augustus  the  elite  of  Rome  lived  on  this  hill 
in  marble  mansions,  " each  one  huge  enough 
to  be  a city  in  itself.”  Goth  and  Hun  and 


20 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Vandal  had  made  but  small  impression  on 
their  solid  masonry.  But  only  a handful  of 
buildings  was  in  good  repair — just  enough  to 
house  the  imperial  officials,  and  the  exarch 
from  Ravenna  when  business  brought  him  to 
Rome.  All  around,  and  elsewhere  on  the 
Seven  Hills,  the  ground  lay  strewn  with 
broken  marble  and  mosaics,  and  headless 
statues  carelessly  toppled  over  when  the 
pedestals  were  rifled  of  their  bronze. 

It  was  the  Romans  themselves  who  muti- 
lated their  monuments  and  took  from  public 
buildings  and  deserted  temples  wherewith  to 
mend  and  reconstruct  their  own  abodes.  The 
houses  were  now  huddled  in  the  lower  parts  of 
the  city.  It  was  difficult  to  get  water  on  the 
heights  since  the  grand  old  aqueducts  had  been 
suffered  to  fall  out  of  repair.  Malaria  was 
chronic  in  the  pestilential  swamps  thus  en- 
gendered, and  the  Campagna  had  become  a 
wilderness,  with  the  broken  lines  of  aqueduct 
arches  and  the  charred  remains  of  buildings  to 
tell  of  the  glories  and  prosperity  of  bygone 
days. 

But  Gregory's  home  stood  on  a healthy 
height,  the  Clivus  Scaurus  or  western  escarp- 
ment of  the  Ccelian  Hill,  where  now  stands  the 
church  and  monastery  of  San  Gregorio. 
There  was  never  a shortage  of  water  in  his 


ROME  IN  HIS  BOYHOOD 


21 


father's  mansion.  The  great  fountain  in  the 
atrium  was,  according  to  legend,  the  very 
fountain  where  the  nymph  Egeria  gave  lessons 
to  King  Numa  on  law  and  religion.  In  the 
Middle  Ages  it  was  to  be  a holy  well,  where 
halt  and  blind  and  sick  of  divers  diseases 
would  come  to  drink,  and  to  kneel  in  thanks- 
giving or  silent  petition  before  the  portrait  of 
the  sainted  pontiff  on  the  wall  hard  by. 

From  the  steps  of  the  colonnade  which  let 
in  air  and  light  to  the  windowless  atrium,  the 
boy  Gregory  could  see  below  him  to  the  south- 
west the  Thermae  Caracallae  where  once 
sixteen  hundred  bathers  lounged  through  the 
day.  The  roof  was  still  intact,  the  painted 
ceilings  beautiful.  But  the  huge  swimming 
bath  had  long  ago  run  dry,  weeds  were  sprouting 
through  the  mosaics  on  the  untrodden  pave- 
ment, spiders  wove  their  webs  across  the  faces 
of  the  marble  gods.  He  may  have  played  here 
as  an  infant,  under  the  watchful  eye  of  his 
nurse,  Dominica.  As  a schoolboy  he  may 
have  sought  here,  sometimes,  a quiet  nook, 
sheltered  from  the  sun,  where  he  might  con 
the  morrow's  task. 

Outside  the  Thermae  ran  the  Appian  Way, 
the  queen  of  long  roads.  Gregory  must  often 
have  walked  along  its  perfect  pavement  of 
smoothly  jointed  stones ; for  the  Roman 


22 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


section  of  the  Via  Appia  skirted  the  bases  of 
the  Coelian  and  Palatine  Hills,  before  merging 
in  the  Via  Sacra  a little  to  the  north  of  the 
Coliseum. 

The  Coliseum,  too,  was  in  good  repair  : no 
breaches  then  in  the  huge  weather-beaten  mass 
of  masonry.  It  was  still  used  for  acrobatic 
displays  and  the  feats  of  performing  animals. 
But  the  gladiators  had  fought  their  last  fight 
in  404.  Bea^t- baitings,  too,  had  ceased.  The 
citizens  had  no  longer  the  opportunity  to 
applaud  indecencies  on  the  very  spot  where 
their  forefathers  had  died  for  Christ.  Some- 
how we  cannot  picture  the  boy  Gregory  as 
ever  seeking  amusement  in  the  shows  of  the 
Coliseum. 

Pagan  Rome  was  mouldering  away.  De- 
serted and  dilapidated,  shunned  as  the  haunts 
of  evil  spirits  stood  the  stately  temples  which 
erstwhile  made  its  glory.  The  small  bronze 
shrine  of  Janus  in  the  Forum  still  contained 
the  image  of  the  two-faced  god  ; but  some 
fanatic  had  wrenched  its  gates  apart 
from  their  hinges  during  the  Gothic  war. 

Hard  by,  on  the  Via  Sacra,  Pope  Felix  IV  had 
thrown  into  one  two  small  temples  to  form  the 
Church  of  Saints  Cosmas  and  Damian.  Here 
the  boy  Gregory  may  often  have  lingered, 
drinking  in  the  lessons  of  its  storied  mosaics. 


ROME  IN  HIS  BOYHOOD 


23 


All  through  life  he  loved  to  see  the  walls  of 
churches  covered  with  holy  pictures,  " books 
of  the  unlettered  ” he  calls  them  in  a letter  to 
Serenus,  Bishop  of  Marseilles  : 

" Exhort  your  people  to  acquire  the  fervour 
of  compunction  by  gazing  on  these  historic 
scenes  while  they  bend  the  knee  adoringly 
before  the  Holy  Trinity/ ’ 

He  liked  too  the  idea  of  transforming  heathen 
temples  into  places  of  Christian  worship,  and 
suggested  it  to  his  English  missionaries.  After 
his  death  such  conversions  became  popular  on 
the  banks  of  the  Tiber.  The  Pantheon  began 
the  series  in  609  when  Boniface  IV  consecrated 
it  to  the  honour  of  Our  Lady  and  all  the  martyrs. 
But  in  St.  Gregory’s  lifetime  Saints  Cosmas 
and  Damian  was  the  solitary  instance  in  Rome. 

There  were  churches  in  plenty — ugly  outside, 
devotional  and  aglow  with  colour  and  gilding 
within.  Classic  monuments  had  contributed 
piecemeal  to  their  structure.  Thus  the 
pavement  in  St.  Paul’s  Without-the-Walls 
was  a patchwork  of  nine  hundred  inscriptions. 
In  St.  Peter’s-on-the-Vatican,  the  ninety-two 
great  pillars  had  capitals  and  bases  which  did 
not  match.  The  columns  of  Grecian  marble 
in  St.  Peter’s  ad  Vincula  had  once  adorned  the 
Thermae  of  Titus  and  of  Trojan. 

Only  one  church  could  rank  as  a work  of  art, 


24 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


“ the  Golden  Basilica/'  which  Constantine  had 
built  near  the  Lateran  palace  of  the  popes  to 
be  “ the  mother  and  mistress  of  all  the  churches 
in  the  city  and  in  the  world." 

Yet,  even  in  the  sixth  century,  the  Catholic 
world  recognized  as  its  real  centre,  not  the  fair 
church  of  St.  John  Lateran,  but  that  other 
basilica  built  by  Constantine  “ above  the  body 
of  Blessed  Peter."  Here  Theodoric  the  great 
Goth,  albeit  an  Arian,  “ worshipped  with 
the  deep  devotion  of  a Catholic,"  and  left 
his  offering,  two  silver  candelabra,  seventy 
pounds  in  weight.  Hither,  as  ex-voto  for  his 
victories,  Belisarius  brought  two  silver-gilt 
candelabra  and  a golden  cross  adorned  with 
gems.  Hither  from  time  to  time  the  emperors 
sent  pledges  of  their  communion  with  the 
Throne  of  the  Fisherman  ; costly  tapestries, 
jewelled  altar  vessels  and  vases  of  gold  and 
silver,  illuminated  gospels  in  rich  bindings 
encrusted  with  gems.  Nor  must  wre  forget 
St.  Gregory's  own  tablet,  enumerating  the 
estates  which  he  allotted  for  the  upkeep  of  the 
lamps. 

St.  Peter’s  holds  a more  sacred  memorial  of 
this  great  pope.  For  “ When  he  departed," 
says  Bede,  “ to  the  true  life  where  the  reward 
of  his  labours  shall  never  die,  his  body  was 
buried  in  the  church  of  St.  Peter  the  Apostle, 


ROME  IN  HIS  BOYHOOD 


25 


before  the  sacristy.”  The  greater  portion  of 
his  relics  were  translated  in  1606  to  the  Clemen- 
tine chapel  within  the  same  basilica. 

But  fully  to  satisfy  our  devotion  towards  the 
saint,  we  must  turn  our  backs  on  the  Vatican 
and  go — as  Gregory  so  often  went  in  life — along 
the  Via  Triumphalis  which  links  St.  Peter’s 
with  the  Lateran  palace.  And,  a little  before 
the  road  ends  in  the  Piazza  San  Giovanni,  we 
turn  aside  up  the  Avenue  San  Gregorio  which 
leads  to  the  church  and  monastery  of  that 
name. 

In  the  church  we  venerate  a reliquary  con- 
taining an  arm  of  our  saint,  his  ivory  crozier, 
his  marble  chair,  the  recess  where  he  slept,  the 
picture  of  Our  Lady  before  which  he  was  wont 
to  pray,  the  marble  table  with  antique  supports 
where  once  he  entertained  an  angel  unawares, 
the  arm  of  St.  Andrew  which  he  brought  home 
to  his  monks  from  Constantinople,  his  statue 
designed  by  Michael  Angelo  but  finished  by 
another  hand,  and  frescoes  treating  of  St. 
Augustine’s  mission  to  the  English. 

The  circerone  taps  the  walls  and  buttresses  of 
the  church,  and  tells  the  pilgrims  that  they 
date  from  St.  Gregory’s  time.  And  so  they 
do.  For  when  the  building  was  reconstructed 
in  the  seventeenth  century  as  much  as  possible 
of  the  old  material  was  used,  and  the  architect 


26  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


copied,  as  accurately  as  he  could,  the  church 
erected  during  the  pontificate  of  this  great 
pope,  and  which  he  consecrated  in  honour  of 
St.  Andrew  close  to  the  monastery  where  he 
himself  had  lived  so  many  years  in  holy  peace. 

The  monastery,  too,  has  been  rebuilt.  A 
few  Benedictines  of  the  Camaldolese  congrega- 
tion are  still  tolerated  here  as  caretakers  of  the 
church.  But  the  Italian  Government  took 
over  the  premises  in  1870  and  assigned  the 
larger  portion  as  an  almshouse  for  old  women. 

Centuries  have  altered  the  ground  level  of 
the  Coelian  Hill.  Yet  experts  have  reason  to 
believe  that,  beneath  the  cellars  of  the  monas- 
tery, the  old  Roman  mansion,  where  St. 
Gregory  was  born,  exists  still  in  good  repair 
and  could  be  excavated  without  danger  or 
injury  to  the  buildings  overhead. 

It  was  still  above  ground  in  872  and  the  monks 
in  possession  for  three  hundred  years,  when 
John  the  Deacon  paid  his  memorable  visit  and 
described  the  three  portraits  in  the  atrium  : 
Gordianus,  Sylvia  and  their  illustrious  son. 


CHAPTER  II 


A GOODLY  INHERITANCE. 

GORDIANES,  our  saint's  father,  was  a 
grave,  tall,  long-faced  man  with  short 
beard  and  bushy  hair.  He  wears  in  his 
picture  a bright  brown  planeta , suggestive 
somewhat  of  a chasuble,  and  stands  clasping 
the  hand  of  the  Apostle,  St.  Peter,  in  token 
that  he  held  office  under  the  pope.  Indeed, 
he  was  responsible  for  the  law  business,  upkeep 
of  churches  and  care  of  the  poor  in  one  of  the 
seven  regions  of  Rome. 

He  came  of  an  ancient  and  respected  line, 
the  Gens  Anicia  which  was  famous,  says  St. 
Austin  of  Hippo,  for  the  many  consuls  it  gave 
the  State,  for  the  many  virgins  it  gave  the 
Church.  To  this  family  belonged  the  first 
Christian  senator,  the  pope  St.  Felix  III, 
Boethius,  " the  last  of  the  Romans  whom  Cato 
and  Cicero  could  acknowledge  as  their  fellow- 
citizen,"  and  St.  Benedict,  the  great  patriarch 
of  the  monks  of  the  west. 

Gordiarus  was  a wealthy  man.  He  owned 
large  estates  in  Sicily  and  may  often  have 
taken  his  family  there  for  the  summer  months. 


28  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


But  the  formative  years  of  Gregory's  boyhood 
were  mostly  spent  in  Rome. 

Of  this  interesting  period  there  is  little 
on  record.  His  talents,  like  his  father's,  seem 
to  have  been  of  a practical  order.  Natural 
eloquence  and  will  power  gave  promise  of  a 
distinguished  career.  Paul  the  Deacon,  his 
earliest  biographer,  speaks  of  his  sound  judg- 
ment, as  a boy,  of  his  reverence  for  his  teachers, 
of  his  tenacious  memory. 

“If  he  chanced  to  hear  what  was  worth 
remembering,  he  did  not  sluggishly  let  it  pass 
into  oblivion.  In  those  days  he  drew  into  a 
thirsty  breast  streams  of  learning,  which, 
afterwards,  at  the  fitting  time  he  poured  forth 
in  honeyed  words." 

From  his  mother,  Sylvia,  he  learned  to  be 
tender  as  well  as  strong.  Her  portrait  shows 
a dignified,  pleasant-looking  matron,  still 
comely  albeit  wrinkled  with  age.  Her  right 
hand  is  uplifted  to  make  the  sign  of  the  cross. 
In  her  left  hand  she  holds  a psalter  open  at  her 
favourite  text  : “ Let  my  soul  live  and  it  shall 
please  Thee,  and  let  Thy  judgment  help  me." 

Sylvia  inspired  her  son  with  her  own  love  for 
Holy  Scripture.  He  mastered  the  sacred  text 
so  thoroughly  in  youth  that  afterwards  he 
could  quote  it  readily,  and  bring  it  to  bear  on 
whatsoever  topic  he  treated. 


A GOODLY  INHERITANCE 


29 


St.  Gregory  has  been  blamed  for  using  words 
unknown  to  classic  writers.  Be  it  remembered 
that  when  he  wrote,  Latin  was  a living  lan- 
guage, subject  to  change.  He  could  not  find 
in  Cicero's  vocabulary  words  to  express  ideas 
that  were  far  above  Cicero's  plane.  He 
certainly  did  not  write  the  Latin  of  Cicero  or 
even  of  Tacitus.  But  he  contributed  as  much 
as  any  Father  of  the  Church  to  form  the 
new  Latin,  the  Christian  Latin  which  was  to 
become  the  language  of  the  pulpit  and  of  the 
schools. 

He  could  always  clothe  his  thought  in  words 
which  made  his  meaning  unmistakable,  but  he 
was  at  no  pains  to  cultivate  elegance  of  diction. 
He  says  himself  that  his  letters  abound  in 
uncouth  phrases,  that  his  too  frequent  use  of 
words  ending  in  m grates  upon  the  ear,  that 
his  faults  are  flagrant  as  regards  prepositions. 
He  ends  his  list  of  shortcomings  with  the 
jesting  avowal : 

“ I consider  it  extremely  unbecoming  to 
hamper  the  flow  of  heavenly  utterance  by  too 
rigid  attention  to  the  rules  of  grammarians." 

He  was  prone  to  deride  the  preacher  “ wordy 
in  superfluities,  mute  in  necessaries." 

In  his  Dialogues,  and  still  more  fully  in  his 
homilies,  St.  Gregory  tells  the  story  of  his 
father's  three  sisters,  Tarsilla,  Emiliana  and 


30 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Gordiana,  who  had  consecrated  their  virginity 
to  God,  and  lived  at  home,  as  much  apart  from 
the  world  as  in  a convent,  dividing  their 
time  between  prayer  and  good  works,  and 
exhorting  one  another  to  virtue  by  word  and 
by  example. 

Sometimes  Tarsilla  said  sadly  to  Emiliana  : 
" Methinks  our  sister,  Gordiana,  is  not  as 
we  are.  I fear  that  in  her  heart  she  does  not 
keep  to  what  she  has  promised/' 

Then  would  they  sweetly  chide  Gordiana. 
And  she  would  listen  gravely  and  with  down- 
cast eyes,  but  soon  again  returned  to  trifling 
jests,  and  sought  the  company  of  worldly  girls. 
And  the  time  not  given  to  diversions  seemed 
to  her  tedious. 

Tarsilla  died  on  Christmas  Eve.  St.  Gregory 
tells  us  the  manner  of  her  death. 

“ To  this  holy  woman,  my  great  grandfather, 
Felix,  sometime  Bishop  of  Rome,  appeared  in 
vision.  ‘ Come  ' said  he,  ' I will  entertain  thee 
in  my  home  of  light."  Soon  afterwards  she 
fell  ill  of  an  ague,  and  many  friends  stood  round 
her  bed,  as  is  the  custom  when  noble  folk  lie 
dying.  Suddenly  she  fixed  her  gaze  on  high. 
‘ Away,  away  ! ' she  cried,  ‘ Make  room,  my 
Saviour  Jesus  comes  i ' And  as  she  leaned  for- 
ward to  meet  the  Bridegroom,  her  holy  soul 
was  freed  from  the  flesh  and  a wonderful 


A GOODLY  INHERITANCE 


3i 


fragrance  filled  the  room,  so  that  my  mother 
and  the  others  present  knew  that  the  Author 
of  all  sweetness  had  been  there/' 

A few  nights  later,  Tarsilla  appeared  to 
Emiliana  in  her  sleep. 

“ Come,"  she  said  joyfully,  “ I have  kept 
our  Lord's  Birthday  without  thee,  but  we  shall 
be  together  for  the  Epiphany." 

“ If  I come,"  said  Emiliana,  “ who  will  take 
care  of  our  sister  ? " 

“ Come  thou,"  Tarsilla  repeated,  “ our  sister 
Gordiana  is  reckoned  among  the  women  of  the 
world." 

“ My  aunt  Gordiana  increased  her  way- 
wardness," St.  Gregory  goes  on,  “ and  what 
before  was  hidden  in  the  desire  of  her  mind  she 
now  translated  into  evil  act.  Unmindful  of 
the  fear  of  God,  unmindful  of  modesty  and 
reverence,  unmindful  of  her  vow  of  virginity, 
she  married,  after  a time,  the  steward  of  her 
estates." 

Could  this  be  the  “ Aunt  Pateria  " who  was 
living  in  the  Campagna  in  straitened  circum- 
stances when  Gregory  became  pope  ? In  the 
first  year  of  his  pontificate  he  orders  his  local 
agent  to  give  her  forty  measures  of  wheat,  as 
well  as  money  “ to  buy  boots  for  her  boys." 
Pateria  may  well  be  a clerical  slip  for  paterna 
“ on  the  father's  side." 


32 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Gordianus  destined  his  son  for  the  bar,  so 
Gregory  naturally  focussed  his  studies  on 
Roman  and  Canon  Law.  “ In  the  city  he 
was  second  to  none  for  skill  in  grammar, 
dialectics  and  rhetoric/1  And  despite  keen 
competition  on  the  part  of  state-aided  Con- 
stantinople, the  Rome  of  that  era  still  attracted 
students  in  theology,  law  and  medicine. 
Cassiodorus,  the  cultured  statesman  turned 
monk,  could  write  : 

" Whereas  other  districts  trade  in  oil  and 
balm  and  in  aromatics,  Rome  still  distributes 
to  the  world  the  gift  of  eloquence  ; and  we 
find  it  inexpressibly  sweet  to  listen  to  the  men 
whom  she  has  trained.” 

Strange  to  say  St.  Gregory  never  troubled  to 
learn  Greek,  even  vrhen  in  manhood  he  spent 
six  years  in  Constantinople,  with  plenty  of 
leisure  on  his  hands.  And  thus  the  wealth  of 
sacred  learning  in  the  writings  of  the  Eastern 
Fathers  remained  for  him  locked  and  sealed. 
One  winders  how  Gordianus  could  have  let 
him  grow  up  ignorant  of  a language  as  indis- 
pensable to  a Roman  gentleman  in  the  sixth 
century  as  French  is  to  an  English  one  nowa- 
days. It  may  well  be  that  both  father  and  son 
resented  the  secondary  position  which  Rome 
now  held  in  politics.  This  neglect  of  Greek, 
moreover,  points  to  a lack  of  wordly  ambition. 


A GOODLY  INHERITANCE 


33 


The  boy's  aim,  as  he  grew  to  manhood,  was  to 
serve  his  fellow-citizens,  as  his  father  served 
them,  in  the  pope's  employ. 

The  pope  was  undoubtedly  the  great  man  in 
Rome,  his  political  position  in  Italy 
strengthened  by  the  Emperor  Justinian's 
Pragmatic  Sanction  of  the  Ides  of  August,  554. 
“ Let  produce  be  furnished,"  thus  ran  the 
decree,  “ let  money  be  received  in  taxes, 
according  to  those  weights  and  measures 
which  Our  Piety  now  entrusteth  to  the  safe 
keeping  of  the  Most  Blessed  Pope  and  the 
Most  Honourable  Senate." 

Like  other  Italian  bishops,  the  pope  was 
allowed  due  weight  in  the  selection  of  “ fit  and 
proper  persons  to  carry  on  the  local  govern- 
ment." The  Viceroy  (exarch)  stationed  at 
Ravenna  usually  allowed  him  a free  hand. 
The  few  subordinates  in  the  Government 
offices  on  the  Palatine  did  not  seriously 
interfere  with  his  arrangements  for  the  good 
administration  of  Rome. 

The  popes  accepted  the  circumstances  and 
rendered  faithfully  to  Caesar  the  things  he 
claimed,  when  this  claim  did  not  clash  with 
the  higher  duty  owed  to  God.  Each  pope  at 
his  accession  paid  in  coin  of  tribute  three 
thousand  gold  pieces,  just  six  times  as  much 
as  an  ordinary  bishop  ; and  the  emperor,  as 


34  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


chief  patrician,  was  asked  to  ratify  the  choice 
of  the  clergy  and  people  of  Rome. 

Vigilius,  who  was  pope  when  St.  Gregory 
was  born,  had  represented  the  Holy  See  at  the 
court  of  Justinian  during  five  consecutive 
pontificates.  He  had  a difficult  course  to 
steer  at  Constantinople,  amid  simony,  intrigue 
and  heresy  under  a plausible  mask.  Justinian, 
himself,  was  orthodox  in  faith.  But  his  wife, 
the  Empress  Theodora,  would  fain  have  men 
forget  her  past  lapses  in  the  days  when  she  was 
known  as  Athenais,  the  star  of  the  Byzantine 
comic  stage.  And  so  she  dabbled  and 
domineered  in  church  affairs  and  “ clung  to 
the  Monophysite  creed  as  if  it  were  some  new 
form  of  sensual  gratification.” 

The  Monophysites,  who  denied  Our  Lord’s 
Human  Nature,  had  been  formally  condemned 
at  the  fourth  General  Council  of  the  Church, 
held  at  Chalcedon  in  451.  Three  of  the  bishops 
at  Chalcedon  had  written  formally  on  the  side 
of  Nestorius,  and  the  Monophysites  fastened 
on  this  fact  as  a pretext  for  questioning  the 
validity  of  the  decrees  of  the  Council.  Thus 
began  the  schism  known  in  history  as  The  Three 
Chapters , a schism  long  drawn  out,  which  St. 
Gregory’s  best  efforts  failed  to  heal. 

Justinian’s  Edict  of  Comprehension  forbade 
the  topic  to  be  discussed,  and  Theodora  in- 


A GOODLY  INHERITANCE 


35 


truded  Anthymus,  a dissembling  Monophysite, 
into  the  See  of  Constantinople.  Pope  St. 
Agapetus,  when  business  brought  him  to  court, 
unmasked  the  heretic,  deposed  and  excom- 
municated him.  And  Justinian,  a moment 
led  astray  by  anger,  knelt  spontaneously  to 
ask  the  pope's  forgiveness. 

But  Theodora  hardened  her  heart.  On  the 
death  of  St.  Agapetus  she  wrote  imperiously 
to  the  new  pope  : 

“ Delay  not  to  come  to  us ; or  at  least 
restore  Anthymus  to  his  see." 

Pope  St.  Silverius  groaned  aloud  when  he 
read  this  letter,  " I know  this  affair  will  be 
my  death." 

Nevertheless,  putting  his  trust  in  God  and 
St.  Peter,  he  refused  point  blank  to  hold  com- 
munion with  Anthymus.  And  the  empress  set 
up  Vigilius  as  anti-pope,  imprisoned  Sylverius, 
and  starved  him  to  death,  before  Justinian 
could  intervene. 

Vigilius  went  to  Rome  and  was  canonically 
elected  pope.  He  wrote  immediately  to 
Theodora  : 

“ We  have  spoken  wrongly,  senselessly. 
Now  we  will  not  do  what  you  require.  We  will 
not  recall  an  anathematized  heretic." 

Summoned  in  his  turn  to  Constantinople, 
he  went.  He  condemned  The  Three  Chapters 


36  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


“ without  prejudice  to  the  Council  of  Chal- 
cedon.”  He  refused  to  preside  at  a council 
to  which  the  Western  bishops  were  not  sum- 
moned. He  would  not  admit  that  the  emperor 
had  a right  to  dictate  to  the  Church.  After 
eight  years  struggle  he  was  allowed  to  return  to 
Rome,  but  died  in  Sicily  on  the  homeward 
journey  (555). 

Gregory,  at  that  date,  was  a boy  of  fifteen, 
old  enough  to  take  a keen  interest  in  the  riots 
which  took  place  in  Rome,  when  Pelagius  came 
before  the  electors  as  the  emperor’s  nominee. 

Pelagius  was  an  able  and  a holy  man,  and 
Roman  to  the  core.  As  archdeacon  of  St. 
Peter’s  he  had  endeared  himself  to  the 
citizens  by  open-handed  almsgiving  in  the 
lean  years  of  famine,  he  had  earned  the  grati- 
tude of  the  senators  by  his  bold  front  against 
Totila  in  546.  But  these  things  had  slipped 
from  memory  during  the  years  of  absence 
which  he  spent,  safeguarding  the  interests  of 
the  Romans  as  papal  agent  (apocrisarius)  at 
the  court  of  Justinian.  Calumny  made  itself 
busy  with  his  name.  He  had  bought  his 
appointment,  it  was  whispered,  he  had  had  a 
hand  in  the  death  of  Vigilius. 

However,  the  memory  of  his  bygone  benevo- 
lence stirred  enough  hearts  among  the  notables 
to  secure  him  the  number  of  votes  required  by 


A GOODLY  INHERITANCE 


37 


Canon  Law.  But  only  two  bishops  were  found 
willing  to  officiate  at  his  consecration,  the 
Archpriest  of  Ostia  had  to  do  duty  as  the 
third. 

Narses,  the  exarch,  came  up  from  Ravenna 
with  his  troops  to  keep  order  in  the  city,  and 
rode  with  the  new  Pope  to  the  Church  of  St. 
Pancras,  whom  the  Romans  regarded  as  the 
avenger  of  perjury.  Here,  his  hand  on  the 
martyr's  relics,  Pelagius  swore  he  was  innocent 
of  the  charges  brought  against  him.  Then 
the  procession  passed  on  to  St.  Peter's  and 
seated  on  his  throne,  the  new  Pope  preached 
to  the  people  on  the  sin  of  simony,  and  pro- 
claimed his  intention  of  cleansing  the  Church 
from  its  foulness.  He  kept  his  w’ord. 

In  565  the  Emperor  Justinian  died.  A 
little  later  Narses  was  recalled  in  disgrace. 
Then  the  Lombards  gained  a footing  in  Italy 
and  all  was  frightfulness  again.  In  572  Monte 
Cassino  was  raided  and  the  monks  dispersed. 
The  marauders  infested  the  Campagna  and 
brought  the  Romans  to  the  brink  of  starva- 
tion. 

We  have  no  details  as  to  the  part  played  by 
Gregory  amid  these  stirring  events.  He  helped 
his  father  in  his  regionary  duties,  and  suc- 
ceeded him  in  office  when  the  death  of  Gor- 
dianus  left  him  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in 


38  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Rome.  His  widowed  mother  retired  to  a 
hermitage  near  St.  Paul's  Without-the-Walls, 
to  spend  the  remainder  of  her  life  in  prayer, 
good  works  and  pious  reading.  Her  son 
endowed  the  basilica  to  which  she  attached 
herself  with  a yearly  grant  of  oil  and  wax. 

We  know  he  was  chief  magistrate  in  Rome 
at  the  age  of  thirty-three.  His  signature, 
in  this  capacity,  heads  the  list  of  Romans  who 
pledged  themselves  in  574  to  uphold  the  Fifth 
General  Council  of  Constantinople.  For  the 
Popes  recognised  this  Council  as  oecumenical, 
with  the  proviso  “ that  the  decrees  of  the 
Council  of  Chalcedon  might  in  no  wise  be 
impugned.” 

This  was  Gregory's  first  contribution  to  the 
controversy  of  The  Three  Chapters,  a fight  over 
nothing,  so  it  seems  to  us  now,  nevertheless  it 
proved  an  irritating  thorn  to  St.  Gregory  all 
through  his  career.  We  shall  not  refer  again 
to  the  “ very  useful  letters  ” which  as  papal 
secretary  and  as  pope  he  wrote  to  hinder 
schism  from  hardening  in  the  Churches  of 
Milan  and  Istria.  The  verdict  of  history  has 
long  ago  approved  the  sensible  attitude  which 
the  Holy  See  adopted  from  first  to  last. 

As  Prefect  of  Rome  Gregory  could  now 
wear  the  trabea  of  the  Consuls,  a rich  robe 
of  silk,  magnificently  embroidered  and  spark- 


A GOODLY  INHERITANCE 


39 


ling  with  gems.  Impartial,  gracious,  open- 
handed,  he  soon  won  his  way  into  the  hearts 
of  the  citizens,  who  vented  their  enthusiasm 
in  cheers  whenever  he  appeared  in  the  streets. 

But  Gregory  shrank  from  plaudits.  The 
responsibilities  outweighed,  in  his  mind,  the 
dignity  of  his  position.  He  made  time  to 
spend  long  hours  in  prayer.  He  courted  the 
friendship  of  holy  monks.  There  were  about 
twenty  monasteries  in  Rome  at  the  time,  and 
many  homeless  monks  sought  refuge  within 
the  circuit  of  the  city  walls  when  the  Lombards 
laid  waste  the  Campagna. 

Gregory  had  already  founded  six  monasteries 
on  his  lands  in  Sicily.  He  now  turned  his 
house  at  Rome  into  a seventh  in  honour  of  the 
Apostle  St.  Andrew.  Here  he,  himself,  took 
the  habit  in  the  year  575. 

The  atrium — the  great  windowless  hall  with 
its  colonnaded  portico  and  its  fountain — 
remained  much  as  he  remembered  it  in  child- 
hood. Here  were  the  portraits  of  his  beloved 
parents.  And  here  in  a small  apse  within  a 
a ring  of  stucco,  as  John  the  Deacon  tells  us,  our 
saint  after  he  became  Pope,  “ wisely  wished 
his  own  likeness  to  be  painted,  that  he  might 
be  frequently  seen  by  his  monks  as  a reminder 
of  his  known  severity/' 

John's  description  of  this  picture  may  fitly 


40 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


close  this  chapter.  We  cannot  better  Dudden’s 
translation  of  it  in  his  Gregory  the  Great. 

“ His  face  was  well  proportioned,  combining 
the  length  of  his  father's  and  the  roundness  of 
his  mother’s  countenance  ; his  beard,  like  his 
father’s,  was  somewhat  tawny  and  sparse. 
His  head  was  large  and  bald,  surrounded  with 
dark  hair  hanging  down  below  the  middle  of 
the  ear  ; two  little  curls  bending  towards  the 
right  crowned  a forehead  broad  and  high.  The 
eyes  were  of  a yellow-brown  colour,  small  but 
open  ; the  eyebrows  arched,  long  and  thin  ; 
the  under  eye-lids  full.  The  nose  was  aquiline 
writh  open  nostrils.  The  lips  were  red  and  thick, 
the  cheeks  shapely,  the  chin  prominent  and 
well  formed.  His  complexion,  swarthy  and 
high-coloured,  became  flushed  in  later  life. 
The  expression  was  gentle.  He  was  of  medium 
height  and  good  figure  ; his  hands  were  beauti- 
ful, with  tapering  fingers  wTell  adapted  to  handle 
the  pen  of  a ready  WTiter.  In  the  picture  he 
was  represented  as  standing,  clad  in  a chestnut 
coloured  chasuble  over  a dalmatic,  and  wearing 
a small  pallium  which  fell  over  his  shoulders, 
breast  and  side.  His  left  hand  grasped  a book 
of  the  Gospels,  his  right  was  raised  to  make 
the  sign  of  the  Cross.  A square  frame,  not  the 
round  nimbus,  surrounded  his  head,  proving 
that  the  portrait  was  executed  during  his  life- 


A GOODLY  INHERITANCE 


4i 


time.  Beneath  the  picture  was  the  following 
distich  of  his  own  composing  : 

“ Christ e,  potens  Domine,  nostri  largitor 
honoris, 

Indultum  officium  solita  pietate  gubema.” 


CHAPTER  III 


MONK  AND  BUSINESS  MAN 

ST.  BENEDICT’S  " tiny  rule  suited  for  be- 
ginners ” had  stood  the  test  of  sixty 
years  before  it  won  St.  Gregory’s  praise 
as  “ marvellously  discreet  and  clear.”  It  was 
framed  originally  for  men  “ wisely  unlearned” 
like  their  founder,  who  had  fled  from  the  haunts 
of  men  to  build  their  monasteries  in  the 
wilderness  and  eat  their  bread  in  the  sweat  of 
their  brow.  Obviously,  it  had  to  be  some- 
what modified  to  suit  the  circumstances  of 
St.  Andrew’s,  a monastery  well  endowed  and 
established  in  the  heart  of  Rome.  Six  hours 
a day  of  manual  toil  was  too  much,  two  hours 
of  study  not  enough. 

But  the  main  principles  of  the  Benedictine 
Order  remained  intact. 

At  St.  Andrew’s,  as  at  Monte  Cassino,  a 
postulant  of  mature  age  was  kept  knocking  at 
the  gate  for  some  days  to  try  his  perseverance. 
Then  he  was  admitted  to  the  guest  house  and 
after  some  days,  to  the  noviciate.  Here  an 
old  monk,  skilled  in  the  art  of  training  souls, 
studied  his  vocation  and  character,  and  warned 


MONK  AND  BUSINESS  MAN  43 


him  of  the  difficulties  and  discomforts  in  the 
hard  path  of  obedience.  Three  times  the 
whole  rule  was  read  in  his  presence,  and  the 
question  formally  put  : 

" It  thou  canst  observe  it,  enter.  If  thou 
canst  not,  liber  disced e,  thou  art  free  to 
depart/' 

At  St.  Andrew's,  as  at  Monte  Cassino,  the 
monks  had  “ to  obey  without  delay."  St. 
Benedict  wrote  in  his  rule  : “For  the  pre- 
servation of  peace  and  charity,  it  is  expedient 
that  the  entire  government  of  the  monastery 
depend  upon  the  will  of  the  abbot.  Further- 
more, the  brethren  shall  obey  one  another, 
knowing  that  by  this  path  of  obedience  they 
shall  go  to  God." 

To  foster  the  habit  of  prompt,  uncomplain- 
ing obedience,  great  stress  was  laid  on  the 
twelve  degrees  of  humility  by  which,  says  St. 
Benedict,  “ the  monk  will  gradually  ascend  to 
that  perfect  love  of  God  which  casteth  out 
fear,  so  that  whatsoever  in  the  beginning  he 
forced  himself  to  observe,  he  shall  at  length 
do  without  effort,  not  now  through  fear  of  hell, 
but  for  the  love  of  Christ,  out  of  a good  custom 
and  a delight  in  virtue." 

St.  Andrew's,  like  Monte  Cassino,  was  a 
“ Castle  of  God " where  the  monks  clad  in 
the  armour  of  obedience,  enlisted  under  the 


44  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


standard  of  Christ  for  strenuous  service  of 
labour  and  prayer. 

Divine  worship  was  their  principal  duty — 
Opus  Dei  St.  Benedict  calls  it,  " the  work  of 
God  to  which  all  other  work  must  be  subordi- 
nated/' The  days  and  nights  were  parcelled 
out  into  liturgical  hours  when  the  brethren 
met  in  choir,  to  stand  reverently  in  the  sight 
of  God  and  His  angels,  and  to  sing  the  Divine 
praises  with  heart  and  voice  in  unison. 

Between  times  arts  and  crafts  were  plied. 
The  work  was  for  the  sake  of  the  monk,  not 
the  monk  for  the  sake  of  the  work.  “ If  any 
one  be  proud  of  the  skill  he  has  in  his  craft, 
because  he  thereby  seems  to  gain  something 
for  the  monastery,  let  him  be  removed  from 
that  craft  and  not  exercise  it  again,  unless  after 
humbling  himself  he  obtains  leave  from  the 
abbot."  This  was  the  rule  in  St.  Andrew's  as 
in  Monte  Cassino.  " Let  the  devil  never  catch 
you  idle  " was  a favourite  saying  with  St. 
Benedict  and  his  spiritual  sons. 

No  monk  was  exempt  from  his  share  in  the 
manual  work  about  the  house  and  grounds. 
Even  on  Sundays  and  festivals,  “ if  a brother 
be  unwilling  or  unable  to  meditate  or  to  read, 
he  shall  be  given  some  work  that  he  can  do." 
The  other  monks  thought  none  the  worse  of 
those  whose  temperament  needed  to  be  thus 


MONK  AND  BUSINESS  MAN  45 


indulged.  St.  Gregory  remarks  in  his  Moralia 
from  the  Book  of  Job  : 

" Some  men  are  so  restless  that  if  they  have 
leisure  from  work  they  labour  more  grievously, 
for  they  suffer  greater  tumults  of  heart  the 
more  freely  they  are  left  to  thought.  Often 
those  who  could  contemplate  God  in  quiet 
fail  on  account  of  stress  of  work.  Often,  too, 
those  who  could  fulfil  His  Holy  Will  when 
occupied  in  human  purposes  have  their  life 
extinguished  by  the  sword  of  contemplation.” 

And  yet  in  this  busy  house  each  one  lived 
his  life  alone  with  God.  Silence,  strictly  insisted 
on,  helped  to  recollection.  Pious  reading  sup- 
plied food  for  holy  thoughts.  Some  time  was 
set  apart  each  day  for  meditation  on  the  Holy 
Scripture — that  sea,  as  St.  Gregory  was  the 
first  to  call  it,  “ where  a lamb  can  wade,  and 
where  an  elephant  soon  swims  beyond  his 
depth.”  Copies  of  the  Bible  multiplied  in  the 
library  awmries,  comments  on  the  sacred  text 
were  laboriously  collated  from  the  wrritings  of 
the  old  Fathers.  Treatises  were  written  and 
homilies  composed  and  delivered  by  those  in 
whom  the  abbot  recognised  a special  gift. 

A letter  from  St.  Gregory,  when  Pope,  to  an 
abbot  whom  he  found  somewhat  remiss  in  his 
duties,  shows  the  importance  he  attached  to 
intellectual  work.  ” I do  not  find  that  the 


46  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


brethren  of  your  monastery,  whom  I have  met 
give  time  to  reading.  Consider  how  great  a 
sin  it  is  if,  when  God  gives  you  sustenance 
from  the  offerings  of  others,  you  neglect  to 
study  His  commandments.” 

Nor  would  he  have  the  studies  entirely 
restricted  to  sacred  authors.  The  master- 
pieces of  Latin  literature  he  looked  upon  as 
aids  to  a fuller  understanding  of  Holy  Writ. 

“ The  devils  know  full  well,”  he  remarked, 
that  minds  well  trained  in  secular  learning  can 
more  easily  reach  a high  level  in  things  divine. 
When  they  strive  to  take  away  from  our  hearts 
all  inclination  to  study,  it  is  but  to  hinder  us 
from  forging  the  lance  or  sword  wThich  would 
be  of  use  to  us  in  the  spiritual  combat  we  all 
have  to  sustain.” 

In  the  sixth  century,  especially  in  half- 
pagan districts,  such  a weapon  might  easily 
prove  too  sharp-edged  to  be  wielded  with 
safety.  Towards  the  close  of  his  life  St. 
Gregory  was  ” filled  with  grief  and  vehement 
disgust  ” when  a report  reached  him  that  the 
Bishop  of  Vienne  in  Gaul  gave  lectures  on 
profane  authors  to  his  friends. 

“ I cannot  mention  it  without  a blush,”  he 
writes  in  601,  " and  I hope  it  is  untrue.  For 
the  same  mouth  cannot  sing  the  praises  of 
Jupiter  and  the  praises  of  Jesus  Christ.  Be- 


MONK  AND  BUSINESS  MAN  47 


think  yourself  how  abominable  it  is  for  a bishop 
to  recite  verses  which  are  unseemly  in  the 
mouth  of  a Christian  lay  man/ * 

Holy  Poverty  was  very  strictly  observed. 
“ Let  no  one  presume,  without  leave  from  the 
abbot,  to  give,  receive  or  hold  as  his  own 
anything  whatsoever,  book,  tablets,  pen,  etc.” 
Yet  the  monks  had,  for  the  asking,  all  they 
required,  “ that  all  pretence  of  necessity  may 
be  removed.”  The  clothing  was  decent  and 
not  too  coarse  ; in  winter  the  cowl  was  lined 
with  wool. 

Flesh  meat  was  forbidden  fare.  But, 
except  on  fast  days,  there  were  always  two 
meals.  Always  at  the  chief  meal  a pint  of 
wine  was  allowed  each  monk,  and  there  were 
two  hot  dishes  “ because  of  the  infirmities  of 
different  people,  so  that  he  who  cannot  eat  of 
one  may  make  his  meal  of  the  other.” 

Special  provision  was  made  in  the  rule  for 
the  care  of  the  sick,  and  Gregory  was  often  on 
the  sick  list.  The  constraint  of  silence,  change 
in  diet,  broken  sleep,  minute  obedience, 
absorption  in  prayer  and  study,  rough  work  to 
which  he  was  unused,  all  these  things  tried 
severely  a man  not  inured  to  hardship  and  no 
longer  in  his  first  youth.  It  was  a great 
change  from  magistrate  to  monk,  and  it  soon 
began  to  tell  upon  his  health.  In  the  Dialogues 


48  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


he  tells  of  the  state  to  which  he  was  reduced 
one  Lent,  when  over  and  above  the  austerities 
ordered  by  the  Church  and  prescribed  by  his 
rule,  the  Benedictine  is  exhorted  “ to  make 
some  offering  in  the  way  of  abstinence  from 
food  or  drink,  sleep  or  laughter,  that  so  he  may 
await  the  feast  of  Easter  with  spiritual  joy 
and  desire.  Yet  he  must  acquaint  the  abbot 
with  what  he  offers,  and  do  it  with  his  consent 
and  blessing/' 

“ I was  so  sick,"  writes  St.  Gregory,  “ that 
I often  swooned  and  was  continually  at  death's 
door  unless  I did  eat  something.  And  when 
I found  that  I might  not  refrain  from  often 
eating  upon  Holy  Saturday,  a day  on  which 
even  old  people  and  little  children  fast,  I began 
to  sink  more  from  sorrow  than  from  weakness." 

And  then  he  bethought  himself  of  a holy 
old  monk  named  Eleutherius,  " a humble  and 
simple  soul,  who&e  tears  were  of  force  with 
God.  I went  with  him,  privately,  into  the 
oratory  and  begged  him  to  obtain  for  me,  by 
his  prayers,  the  strength  to  fast  that  day." 
With  humility  and  tears  he  fell  to  his  prayers 
and  blessed  me  after  a w7hile  and  went  away. 
And  at  the  sound  of  his  blessing  my  stomach 
grew  so  strong  that  all  thought  of  food  and  all 
feeling  of  sickness  vanished  completely. 

" All  day  long  I busied  myself  about  the 


MONK  AND  BUSINESS  MAN  49 


affairs  of  the  monastery  and  never  troubled 
about  my  health.  Indeed,  feeling  myself  so 
well  and  strong  I began  to  doubt  whether  I 
had  eaten  or  not.  And  I could  very  well  have 
gone  on  fasting  till  next  day.” 

Flesh  nieat  was  allowed  by  the  rule  to  the 
infirm ; but  Gregory,  though  always  sickly, 
never  seems  to  have  required  such  dispensation. 
Plain  vegetables,  properly  cooked,  suited  his 
needs.  But  who  could  guarantee  the  cooking, 
when  the  brethren  in  the  kitchen  were  changed 
each  week  ? Sylvia's  hermitage,  however,  was 
not  far  distant,  and  the  abbot  was  willing  she 
should  send  every  day,  hot  in  a silver  dish,  the 
portion  of  pulse  which  she  had  carefully  pre- 
pared for  him  with  her  own  hands.  History 
is  silent  as  to  whether  any  strengthening 
condiments  were  mixed  with  the  food.  An 
abbot's  wisdom  and  a mother's  love  are  fertile 
in  expedients. 

A pretty  story  attaches  to  the  silver  dish. 
One  day  there  came  to  St.  Andrew's  a stranger 
with  a pitiful  tale  of  his  ships  wrecked  at  sea. 
Gregory,  who  seems  at  that  time  to  have  had 
charge  of  the  alms-giving,  gave  him  six  crowns, 
with  kindly  words  of  hope.  N ext  day  the  stranger 
came  again,  urging  the  greatness  of  his  losses 
and  the  little  help  he  could  get  from  his  friends. 
And  again  he  received  six  crowms.  Yet  a 


50 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


third  time  he  came  : he  was  disgraced  for  ever, 
should  be  meet  his  creditors  without  means  to 
pay  his  debts.  The  alms-chest  was  by  this 
time  quite  empty,  and  there  was  no  other 
money  available  in  the  house.  But  Gregory, 
who  knew  his  mother's  heart,  gave  her  the 
merit  of  the  good  deed  and  sent  the  stranger 
away  quite  satisfied  with  the  silver  dish. 

Years  afterwards,  when  Sylvia  had  long 
since  passed  to  her  reward  and  her  son  was 
Pope,  twTelve  poor  men  were  entertained  each 
day  at  dinner  in  the  Lateran  Palace.  And  one 
day, ^writes  John  the  Deacon,  the  Pope  counted 
thirteen  and  asked  the  attendant  for  an  ex- 
planation 

“ Believe  me,  holy  Father,"  replied  the  man 
in  a confident  tone,  “ there  are  only  twelve,  as 
you  yourself  gave  order." 

Ard,  however  often  they  counted  the  guests 
during  the  meal,  the  servant  ahvays  found 
twelve  and  the  Pope  thirteen.  Moreover,  St. 
Gregory  noticed  that  the  poor  man  seated 
nearest  him  frequently  altered  his  features  ; 
sometimes  he  seemed  a young  man,  sometimes 
old  and  venerably  grey.  So  vThen  the  Pope 
dismissed  the  twrelve  with  his  blessing,  he 
took  the  thirteenth  by  the  hand,  led  him  apart 
and  asked  him  his  name. 

" Refresh  your  memory,"  came  the  smiling 


MONK  AND  BUSINESS  MAN  51 


reply.  " Know  in  me  the  shipwrecked 
merchant  who  came  to  you,  when  you  were 
writing  in  your  cell  on  the  hill  Scaurus.  You 
gave  me  twelve  crowns  and  the  silver  dish  in 
which  your  mother,  the  blessed  Sylvia,  sent 
you  your  cooked  pittance  of  pulse.  And  you 
gave  with  such  cheerful  heart  that  I knew  for 
certain  Christ  had  destined  you  to  be  head  of 
His  Church  on  earth,  successor  and  Vicar  of 
Peter  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles/' 

“ How  could  you  know  ? " exclaimed  Gregory 
amazed. 

" Because  I am  an  angel,  sent  by  God  to 
test  your  constancy." 

We  have  given  the  incident  in  John  the 
Deacon's  words,  and  we  accept  it  as  literally 
true,  full  fain,  however,  for  further  detail.  Was 
Gregory  abbot  at  the  time  or  simply  a monk  ? 
How  far  did  he  yield  to  natural  impulse  when 
he  gave  aw7ay  his  mother's  dish  ? If  fault 
there  wTere — and  the  angel  had  no  w’ord  of  blame 
for  him — we  may  rest  assured  the  saint  speedily 
and  amply  atoned  for  it  and  grew  in  humility. 
But  what  a light  it  throws  on  the  straitening 
of  Holy  Poverty  on  a man  who  had  ample 
funds  at  his  disposal,  and  who  hitherto  and 
henceforth  was  always  solicitous,  " lest  a poor 
man  who  asks  to  be  comforted  depart  in 
sorrow." 


52  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


This  constancy  in  his  care  for  the  poor  is  a 
feature  in  Gregory’s  career  on  which  his  bio- 
graphers are  bound  to  lay  stress.  Holy 
Church,  herself,  emphasises  it  in  one  of  the 
antiphons  for  his  feast. 

" Like  an  eagle,  whose  shining  wings  cover 
the  world  with  their  dazzling  radiance,  he 
provided  for  the  needs  of  all,  both  little  and 
great,  in  the  large-hearted  breadth  of  his 
charity.” 

When  he  entered  religion,  he  was  perfectly 
aware  that  he  put  from  him  all  choice  in  the 
allotment  of  his  alms.  He  did  not  even  know 
whether  his  superiors  would  see  fit  to  make 
use  of  his  administrative  ability  in  the  service 
of  the  needy.  The  yoke  of  Holy  Poverty, 
however,  never  seems  to  have  galled  unduly. 
The  yoke  of  obedience  sometimes  did.  He  tells 
us  himself  : 

^ It  is  not  very  hard  for  a man  to  forsake 
what  he  has.  It  is  exceedingly  laborious  for 
a man  to  renounce  what  he  is.” 

Yet  in  the  prime  of  manhood  he  deliberately 
determined  to  order  henceforth  his  life  by 
rule,  whole-heartedly  acquiescent  in  the  arrange- 
ments of  his  superiors.  He  had  but  a year’s 
noviciate  in  which  to  test,  whether  or  not, 
the  strain  was  beyond  his  powers,  or  rather 
beyond  the  grace  given  him  from  on  high. 


MONK  AND  BUSINESS  MAN  53 


All  too  quickly  passed  that  precious  year.  Later 
on  in  life,  when  he  was  in  a position  to  make 
changes  in  the  Rule  of  St.  Benedict,  he  deemed 
it  prudent  to  lengthen  this  time  of  probation 
in  the  case  of  all  religious. 

We  find  him  writing  to  a bishop  of  Naples  : 
“ Let  Your  Fraternity  strictly  interdict  all 
monasteries  from  venturing  to  tonsure  novices 
before  they  have  completed  twro  years  in 
monastic  life.  During  this  space  let  careful 
proof  be  made  of  their  life  and  manners,  lest 
any  of  them  should  not  afterwards  hold  fast 
to  his  choice.  It  is  a grievous  matter  when 
untried  men  are  banded  together  in  the  service 
of  any  man.  How  much  more  grievous  is  it  to 
allow  untried  men  to  consecrate  themselves 
by  life-long  vow  to  the  service  of  the  Most 
High  God.” 

The  Holy  Pope  had,  perhaps,  his  own  ex- 
periences in  mind  when  he  further  legislated 
in  601. 

“ Henceforth  monks  shall  not  be  moved  to 
other  monasteries,  or  raised  to  Sacred  Orders, 
or  be  employed  in  any  ecclesiastical  position, 
without  the  consent  of  their  abbot.” 

It  would  have  been  worse  than  useless  for 
his  own  abbot  to  have  objected  when,  shortly 
after  his  profession,  Gregory  was  chosen  by 
the  Pope  then  reigning  to  be  one  of  the  cardinal 


54  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


deacons  who  were  charged  with  the  superin- 
tendence of  the  ecclesiastical  regions  of  Rome. 

His  duties  now  obliged  him  to  spend  several 
hours  each  day  outside  the  walls  of  St.  Andrew's. 
The  religious  habit  won  him  still  greater 
respect  than  the  trabea  “ aglow  with  silk  and 
jewels  " which  he  once  wore  in  the  streets  as 
prefect  of  the  city.  The  manifold  works  of 
mercy  in  wThich  he  engaged  endeared  him  to 
the  people  among  whom  he  worked. 

It  was  quite  in  the  course  of  business  that  he 
halted  one  day  in  the  market-place  and  asked 
questions  about  the  three  flaxen-haired,  rosy- 
cheeked,  blue-eyed  boys  from  Yorkshire  whom 
he  saw  there  exposed  for  sale.  For  the  laws 
of  Rome  provided  that  heathen  slaves  should 
have  leisure  and  opportunity  for  religious  in- 
struction, and  it  was  the  deacon’s  duty  to 
make  sure  that  these  laws  were  obeyed. 

“ The  pity  of  it,”  he  mused  aloud,  “ that 
the  Prince  of  Darkness  should  hold  such  bright 
beings  in  thrall  and  that,  with  such  wondrous 
grace  of  form,  they  should  lack  the  inward 
beauty  of  the  grace  of  God.” 

And  as  he  took  down  on  his  tablets  the 
needful  particulars,  he  hid  his  emotion  in 
the  string  of  puns  with  which  Bede  has  made 
us  familiar. 

“ Angles  ? Yes,  they  have  angelic  faces 


MONK  AND  BUSINESS  MAN  55 


and  should  be  coheirs  with  the  angels  of 
heaven ! They  come  from  Deira  ? De-ira 
from  the  wrath.  Verily  they  shall  be  snatched 
from  God’s  ire  and  called  to  the  mercy  of  Christ  ! 
Their  king,  you  say,  is  called  Ella  ? Soon 
shall  Alleluia  be  sung  in  Ella’s  land  ! ” 

The  monk  went  on  his  way  with  downcast 
eyes  and  even  gait,  with  brain  and  heart  aglow. 
Henceforth  those  bright  faces  haunted  him 
through  the  busy  day,  and  through  the  prayer- 
ful watches  of  the  night.  And  the  slave-dealer, 
no  doubt,  became  more  careful  in  his  treat- 
ment of  the  lads  and  warned  intending  pur- 
chasers of  the  interest  taken  in  them  by  the 
popular  deacon.  Perhaps,  punning  in  his 
turn,  he  told  how  Gregory,  “ the  watchman,” 
would  follow  their  career  with  watchful  eyes 
and  never  rest  until  with  shepherd’s  crook  he 
had  gathered  them  in  grege  suo,  among  his  flock. 

But  the  affair  was  not  to  end  in  mere  word- 
play. Gregory  was  afire  with  missionary  zeal, 
and  he  never  ceased  entreating  Pope  and  abbot, 
until  he  wrung  from  each  permission  to  leave 
the  good  work  he  was  doing  in  Rome  in  order 
to  preach  the  Gospel  or  be  killed  for  Christ  amid 
the  fens  and  moorlands  of  the  island  in  the  north. 

And,  once  consent  obtained,  he  wasted  no 
time  in  farewells.  Very  early  one  morning,  long 
before  the  City  was  astir,  he  stole  noiselessly 


56  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


out  of  Rome,  with  a few  companions,'  before 
even  the  news  of  his  departure  could  be  bruited 
abroad. 

On  the  third  day  of  their  journey  the  little 
band  halted  for  their  noonday  meal.  And 
while  men  and  horses  rested  in  the  shade, 
Gregory  took  out  his  book.  Perhaps  he  had 
some  arrears  of  office  to  make  up.  And  lo  ! a 
locust  alighted  on  the  open  page,  and  a diowsy 
voice  was  heard  to  murmur  : 

“ Locusta,  loco  sta ! See  a locust,  stay 
where  you  are  ! ” For  the  insect  was  of  evil 
omen,  betokening  hindrance  to  a journey 
begun. 

Gregory,  of  course,  attached  no  importance 
to  the  superstition.  But  he  was  eager  for  an 
excuse  to  shorten  the  halt ; and  so  under  cover 
of  a rebuke  to  the  trifler,  he  gave  orders  for  an 
immediate  start.  But  scarcely  were  the  horses 
caught  and  the  saddle-girths  made  tight,  when 
a messenger  spurred  into  their  midst,  with  a 
peremptory  order  to  turn  back. 

For  Rome  was  in  an  uproar  when  the  news 
leaked  through  that  Gregory  had  left  the  City, 
never  more  to  return.  Three  mobs  waylaid  the 
Pope  as  he  went  to  St.  Peter's,  and  greeted  him 
with  clamorous  reproach  : 

“ Apostolic  Father,  what  have  you  done  ? 
You  have  offended  St.  Peter  ! You  have  ruined 


MONK  AND  BUSINESS  MAN  57 


Rome ! Why  did  you  suffer  Gregory  to 
depart  ? " 

The  Pope,  nothing  loath,  recognised  the 
people's  voice,  in  this  case  at  any  rate,  as  the 
Voice  of  God.  He  despatched  a courier  forth- 
with to  recall  the  people's  favourite.  Gregory 
obeyed  at  once,  without  a protest.  It  was  not 
as  missionary  but  as  Pope  that  he  was  to 
deserve  the  title  “ Apostle  of  the  English." 

Disappointment  was  tempered  with  the  joy 
of  resuming  religious  routine.  Looking  back  on 
his  years  at  St.  Andrew's  he  could  write,  later 
on,  with  unfeigned  regret  : 

“ In  those  days  I could  refrain  my  tongue 
from  idle  words,  and  keep  my  mind,  almost 
continually,  in  an  attitude  of  prayer." 

He  had,  of  course,  resigned  his  regionary 
duties,  and  the  Pope  seemed  in  no  hurry  to 
give  him  back  his  employment.  In  reality 
there  was  other  work  awaiting  him  which 
reached  further  in  importance  to  the  interests 
both  of  the  Church  and  of  Rome. 

Pelagius  intended  to  name  him  Apocrisarius 
(in  Latin,  Responsalis  or  Answerer),  the  Pope's 
nuncio  and  business  agent  at  the  Court  of 
Constantinople.  This  time  the  citizens  made 
no  objection  to  his  departure.  W7ithin  living 
memory  the  post  of  apocrisarius  had  provided 
good  training  for  more  than  one  Pope. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


AT  CONSTANTINOPLE. 


POPE  PELAGIUS  II  had  been  a monk  at 
Monte  Cassino.  He  allowed  Gregory 
to  select  his  suite  among  the  brethren 
at  St.  Andrew's,  and  quite  a band  of  tried  and 
trusty  comrades  embarked  with  him  at  Ostia 
for  the  Golden  Horn. 

We  have  grounds  for  assuming  that  they 
went  by  ship.  St.  Gregory  uses  sea-metaphors 
so  freely  and  so  feelingly  that  he  must  himself, 
at  one  time  or  another,  have  become  familiar 
with  the  dangers  of  the  deep.  Besides,  he 
travelled  with  an  embassy.  The  Patrician, 
Pamphronius,  vras  carrying  to  Constantinople 
Rome's  tribute  of  three  thousand  pounds  in 
gold,  together  with  an  urgent  request  for 
military  aid.  For  the  Lombard  armies  wTere  let 
loose  upon  the  Campagna,  hindering  the  food- 
supplies  from  reaching  Rome.  It  is  not  likely 
such  a convoy  would  choose  the  official  route — 
along  the  Appian  Way,  and  the  Egnatian  Road 
on  the  other  side  of  the  Adriatic.  For  this 
would  mean  running  the  gauntlet  of  the  Duke 
of  Benevent’s  troops  in  Italy,  as  well  as  of  the 
brigands  in  Thessaly  and  Thrace. 


AT  CONSTANTINOPLE 


59 


It  was  in  the  freshness  of  the  early  summer 
that  the  ship  cast  anchor  in  the  sunlit  waters 
of  the  Golden  Horn,  a crescent-shaped  creek 
affording  seven  miles  of  quiet  backwater  from 
the  rapid  currents  of  the  Bosphorus.  The 
fairest,  richest  and  most  cultured  city  in  the 
wrorld  stretched  before  the  travellers  in  beautiful 
panorama,  with  open  spaces  and  buildings 
grouped  in  orderly  arrangement  over  the  Seven 
Hills  and  downwards  to  the  water's  edge,  “ like 
a robe  embroidered  to  the  very  hem." 

For  Constantine  had  planned  his  capital 
imperially ; and  earthquakes  and  fires  and 
riots  provided  his  successors  with  opportunities 
for  improving  on  his  plan.  The  emperors  had 
old  Rome  in  their  minds,  as  a model  eas}^  to 
surpass.  They  had  the  architectural  master- 
pieces of  classic  Greece  to  incorporate,  with 
thought  and  taste,  into  their  monuments. 
They  had  marbles  in  their  quarries  to  supple- 
ment these  antiques,  and  artists  in  their  employ 
fit  to  carry  out  their  ideas.  And  never  was 
there  stint  of  money  to  pay  for  all  this 
magnificence. 

Yet  St.  Gregory,  at  his  first  glimpse  of  the 
city,  must  have  been  more  impressed  with  the 
busy  life  astir  in  the  port.  Unlike  the  ancient 
seat  of  empire,  now  decaying  slowly  on  the 
Tiber— -handicapped  by  bad  harbours  and  shut 


6o  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


in  by  mountains  from  the  rest  of  Europe — 
Rome  on  the  Bosphorus  was  an  active,  industrial 
centre,  easily  accessible  by  land  or  sea,  con- 
trolling the  Danube  lands  and  the  markets  of 
the  Euxine  shores,  and  moreover  fronting  the 
East.  Merchant  ships  from  everywhere  rode 
at  anchor  in  the  Golden  Horn.  Foreign  traders 
thronged  the  streets,  offering  their  wares  in 
barter  for  the  silk,  pottery,  mosaics  and  jewel- 
work  which  were  manufactured  in  the  city  and 
its  environs. 

At  Constantinople  no  one  was  allowed  to  eat 
his  bread  in  idleness.  Able-bodied  citizens  who 
refused  to  work  had  to  seek  a home  elsewhere. 
Strangers  who  lingered  in  the  city  without 
working  at  their  trade  or  profession  were 
expelled  by  the  quaestor,  unless  they  could 
show  cause,  such  as  a lawsuit,  for  remaining  on. 

Our  travellers  had  not  far  to  seek  for  a church 
where  they  might  thank  God  for  mercies  during 
the  voyage,  and  invoke  His  blessing  on  their 
work  in  Constantinople.  The  shrine  of  Saints 
Sergius  and  Bacchus  stood  on  the  southern- 
most of  the  quays.  Here  the  services  were 
according  to  the  Latin  rite.  Here  walls  and 
pillars  were  covered  with  ex-votos  from  the 
grateful  mariners  of  the  West. 

During  the  next  six  years  St.  Gregory  often 
came  to  this  quiet  sanctuary  to  join  in  the 


AT  CONSTANTINOPLE 


61 


prayers  familiar  to  him  from  childhood.  But 
he  found  food  for  piety  too  in  the  more  ornate 
ritual  of  the  Greeks.  Did  he  not  borrow  largely 
from  the  Byzantine  liturgy  later  on  when  he 
compiled  his  Sacramentary  ? He  could  study 
the  elaborate  ceremonial  at  its  best  in  Santa 
Sofia,  the  great  basilica  just  rebuilt  on  a scale 
to  justify  Justinian's  boast  : 

“ Solomon,  I have  surpassed  thee  ! ” 

There  was  nothing  like  Santa  Sofia  in  Old 
Rome.  Its  peculiar  glory  was  the  perfect 
balance  of  its  system  of  domes  which  kept  the 
interior  flooded  with  radiance.  At  any  hour  of 
the  day  the  mosaic  pavement  sparkled  in  the 
sunshine  “ like  a meadow  full  of  flowers  in 
bloom. ” The  light  flashed  full  on  the  forest  of 
pillars,  showing  up  the  delicate  tracery  of  the 
capitals,  and  glinting  back  in  rainbowed  tints 
from  plinth  and  shaft. 

Some  of  these  pillars  were  of  Phrygian 
porphyry,  red  and  silver,  “ powdered  with 
bright  stars  ” ; others  of  Spartan  marble, 
" emerald  green,  showing  slanting  streaks, 
blood-red  and  livid  white  " ; while  yet  another 
variety  from  the  quarries  of  Lydia  suggested 
to  the  imaginative  chronicler  Procopius,  “ blue 
corn-flowers  in  grass  with  here  and  there  a drift 
of  fallen  snow."  The  High  Altar  was  of  solid 
gold.  Forty  thousand  pounds'  weight  of  silver 


62 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


adorned  the  sanctuary.  The  ambo  sparkled 
with  gems. 

Gregory  was  to  assist  at  many  a stately 
function  in  Santa  Sofia  ; the  funeral  of  the 
emperor  and  the  patriarch,  the  crowning  and 
the  consecration  of  their  successors,  the  wedding 
of  the  new  emperor  and  the  christening  of  his 
heir.  And  dearly  as  he  loved  the  beauty  of 
God's  house,  he  rejoiced  more,  as  he  worshipped 
amid  its  structural  magnificence,  because  “ the 
emperor  and  the  patriarch  show  on  every 
occasion  that  their  Church  is  subject  to  the 
Apostolic  See.” 

The  Pope's  representative  had  his  lodging  in 
the  Placidia  wing  of  the  emperor’s  own  palace. 
Gregory  and  his  companions  could  find  quiet 
nooks  for  prayer,  for  study,  and  for  recreation 
in  the  beautiful  gardens  and  woodlands  sloping 
downwards  to  the  Bosphorus.  They  followed, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  same  rule  of  life  as  at 
St.  Andrew's. 

" In  losing  the  peace  of  my  monastic  home,” 
wrote  Gregory,  “ I learn  its  value.  For  when 
I had  it,  I did  not  esteem  enough  that  treasure 
which  needs  to  be  cherished  with  the  utmost 
care.” 

He  blessed  God  for  inspiring  so  many  of  his 
brethren  to  follow  him  from  Rome. 

“ In  this  I see  clearly  the  Hand  of  the  Most 


AT  CONSTANTINOPLE 


63 


High.  For  their  example,  like  a firm  cable,  held 
me  fast  moored  to  the  shore  of  prayer,  while  1 
was  buffeted  to  and  fro  on  the  restless  billows 
of  worldly  concerns.  I fled  to  their  company 
as  to  a haven  of  safety,  and  daily  in  their  midst 
strengthened  my  soul  against  the  disturbance 
of  temporal  business,  by  the  intercourse  of  study 
and  careful  discussion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.” 

From  the  discourses  he  then  delivered,  he 
compiled  later  on  his  M or  alia  from  the  Book  of 
Job,  to  show,  says  Bede,  " how  far  this  book 
is  to  be  understood  literally,  how  it  is  to  be 
referred  to  the  mysteries  of  Christ  and  His 
Church,  and  in  what  sense  it  is  to  be  adapted 
to  every  one  of  the  faithful.” 

His  audience  was  not  restricted  to  his  own 
monks.  There  were  notable  Latins  at  Constan- 
tinople during  those  years,  none  more  notable 
than  St.  Leander  of  Seville,  who  had  come  to 
beg  the  emperor  to  intervene  on  behalf  of  the 
persecuted  Catholics  in  Spain. 

St.  Leander  was  the  closest  friend  St.  Gregory 
ever  had.  They  were  never  to  meet  elsewhere 
on  earth  ; yet,  years  afterwards,  the  Italian 
wrote  to  the  Spaniard  : " The  image  of  thy 
countenance  is  for  ever  imprinted  upon  my 
innermost  heart.”  The  two  saints  had  much  in 
common.  Both  were  accurate  theologians,  both 
diligent  students  of  Holy  Scripture,  and  both 


64  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


skilled  in  music.  St.  Leander,  moreover,  was 
always  the  friend  of  monks,  and  became  from 
first  acquaintance  an  ardent  admirer  of  St. 
Gregory.  He  spent  much  of  his  leisure  at  the 
Placidia,  joining  in  the  religious  exercises  and 
studies,  very  helpful  with  his  criticism  and  sound 
advice.  St.  Gregory  laid  bare  his  heart  to  him 
with  all  its  weaknesses.  He  told  him  of  his 
long  straggle  with  grace,  before  he  could  bring 
himself  to  forsake  the  world  ; he  told  him  of 
his  grief  and  anxiety  at  finding  himself  again 
entangled  in  worldly  affairs.  We  shall  hear 
more  of  St.  Leander  later  on. 

Despite  the  handicap  of  language,  St.  Gregory 
also  made  friends  among  the  Greeks.  Foremost 
among  these  we  may  mention  Eutychius,  the 
patriarch  of  Constantinople,  whom  the  Easterns 
honour  among  the  saints.  He  was  a man  of 
holy  life,  famous  for  his  miracles,  for  his  alms- 
deeds,  for  his  firm  stand  against  imperial 
encroachments.  At  one  time  Justinian  drove 
him  from  his  see,  but  the  clamour  of  the  citizens 
brought  him  back,  when  he  had  spent  twelve 
happy  years  in  a monastery.  On  the  first 
Sunday  after  his  return  he  distributed  Holy 
Communion  for  six  hours  in  Santa  Sofia. 

Eutychius  was  an  acute  thinker.  But  in  his 
sermons  and  in  his  writings  he  maintained  that 
the  bodies  of  the  just  shall  rise  in  glory, 


AT  CONSTANTINOPLE 


65 


“ impalpable  and  more  subtle  than  the  air  or 
wind//  St.  Gregory  did  not  fail  to  show  him 
he  was  wrong,  and  urged  among  other  texts  the 
words  of  the  Risen  Lord  to  His  Apostles  : 

" A spirit  hath  not  flesh  and  bones,  as  ye 
see  Me  to  have.” 

Eutychius  argued,  in  his  turn,  that  Our  Lord 
spoke  thus  to  remove  all  doubt  of  His 
Resurrection. 

“ What ! ” exclaimed  Gregory,  " would  you 
have  us  doubt  of  the  very  thing  which  cured 
the  doubt  of  the  Apostles  ? ” 

The  point  was  argued  in  the  presence  of  the 
emperor,  who  ordered  the  patriarch  to  burn  his 
books.  Eutychius,  thus  silenced,  would  not 
own  himself  convinced.  Ill-health  may  have 
had  to  do  with  his  pertinacity,  for  he  did  not 
long  outlive  his  defeat.  Gregory,  ill  himself  at 
the  time,  sent  him  kind  greetings  on  his  death- 
bed ; and  the  messengers  brought  back  word 
that  the  sick  man  took  hold  of  the  skin  of  his 
own  emaciated  hand,  and  said  to  them  in  a 
clear  voice,  " I acknowledge  that  in  this  very 
flesh  I shall  rise  again  and  behold  my  God.” 

Bede  the  Venerable,  when  he  tells  the  story, 
accuses  Eutychius  of  heresy.  We  think  St. 
Gregory  would  have  disapproved  of  the  word. 
He  always  disliked  the  dogma-mongers  who 
indulged  in  controversy  for  the  delight  of 

E 


66  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


proving  their  opponent  a heretic.  Such  religious 
discussion  was  fashionable  in  the  East. 

“ There  are  many  orthodox  persons/'  he 
regrets,  “ who  fancy  they  are  fighting  heretics, 
while  really  they  are  creating  heresies." 

His  own  practice  was  to  deal  personally  with 
those  who  uttered  novelties,  offensive  to  pious 
ears.  More  often  than  not  a straightforward, 
heart-to-heart  talk  satisfied  him  that  they  did 
not  really  hold  the  foolish  opinions  imputed  to 
them.  A man  might  say,  for  instance,  that 
Baptism  did  not  really  forgive  actual  sin,  and 
yet  mean  nothing  worse  than  that  contrition  is 
an  essential  disposition  for  the  baptism  of 
adults.  Another  might  begin  by  maintaining 
that  a marriage  is  dissolved  when  one  of  the 
contracting  parties  enters  religion,  and  end  by 
smiling  at  his  own  absurdity,  or  stand  aghast 
at  the  issues  involved,  when  the  question  was 
put  before  him  in  all  its  aspects. 

Eutychius  was  followed  in  the  see  of  Con- 
stantinople by  John  the  Faster,  a stern  man, 
" the  despot  of  his  own  passions,"  and  with 
little  pity  for  the  weaknesses  of  other  men. 
Thus  he  insisted  that  a man  convicted  of 
sorcery  should  be  burnt  alive,  even  though  the 
emperor  himself  pleaded  that  the  criminal 
should  be  given  time  and  opportunity  to  repent. 
As  representative  of  the  Holy  See,  Gregory 


AT  CONSTANTINOPLE 


67 


must  have  had  his  tact  and  his  courtesy  strained 
to  the  utmost  in  his  dealings  with  John.  The 
time  had  not  yet  come  when  as  Pope  he  could 
write  to  the  patriarch  in  all  charity  : 

" Your  Fraternity  well  knows  what  the  Canons 
say  about  bishops  who  seek  to  make  themselves 
feared  by  stripes.  The  illustrious  preacher, 
St.  Paul,  says,  * Reprove,  entreat,  rebuke  with 
all  patience  and  doctrine/  It  is  an  unheard  of 
method  of  preaching  to  extort  faith  by  stripes/' 

St.  Gregory  must  also  have  been  disgusted 
with  John's  arrogant  attitude  towards  his 
brother  patriarchs  of  Alexandria  and  of  Antioch. 
He  must  have  watched  uneasily  the  trend  in 
“ the  emperor's  bishop  " to  make  Constanti- 
nople supreme  in  ecclesiastical  matters  through- 
out the  East.  Much,  he  foresaw,  depended  on 
the  individual  character  of  the  reigning  monarch. 

Two  emperors  succeeded  each  other  while  he 
was  at  Constantinople  : Tiberius,  grey-eyed, 
tall  and  yell owT-h aired  ; and  Maurice,  short, 
sturdy,  red-faced  and  bald.  And  the  two  were 
as  unlike  in  disposition  as  in  appearance. 

With  Tiberius,  Gregory's  intercourse  was 
always  agreeable.  The  emperor  received  the 
embassy  with  every  mark  of  honour.  His  own 
wars,  however,  absorbed  his  military  resources. 
All  he  could  do  for  Rome  was  to  send  back 
the  tribute,  and  advise  the  Pope  to  hire  the 


68  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Franks  to  fight  the  Lombards.  It  would  relieve 
Italy  too,  he  suggested,  if  the  Lombard  dukes 
could  be  persuaded  to  come  with  their  troops 
and  help  the  emperor  in  his  campaigns  against 
the  Persians  and  the  Avars. 

A brave  and  able  soldier  was  Tiberius,  and  a 
great  and  generous  Christian,  who  considered 
in  his  alms-giving  less  what  the  needy  ought  to 
receive  than  what  an  emperor  ought  to  bestow. 
He  strengthened  his  defences  by  the  levy  and 
upkeep  of  a large  and  well-disciplined  army. 
But  he  would  not  conscript  recruits  from  the 
agricultural  classes,  and  he  scorned  to  fill  his 
coffers  with  gold  wrung  from  the  taxpayers  at 
the  cost  of  bitter  suffering. 

“ Our  treasury  will  never  be  empty  so  long 
as  there  are  poor  to  relieve  and  captives  to 
ransom/'  Such  was  his  reply,  when  the  empress 
dowager  reproached  him  with  squandering  in 
an  hour  sums  which  it  had  taken  her  husband 
years  to  collect. 

And  sure  enough,  he  never  lacked  for  ready 
money.  One  day,  the  story  goes,  he  noticed  a 
slab  in  the  pavement  of  his  palace  with  a cross 
engraven  thereon. 

" We  fortify  our  brow  and  breast  with  the 
Sign  of  Redemption,"  he  exclaimed,  " yet  here 
we  tread  it  under  foot." 

He  ordered  the  slab  to  be  removed,  and  a 


AT  CONSTANTINOPLE 


69 

second  and  yet  a third  which  lay  underneath. 
In  the  hollow  thus  exposed  a vast  amount  of 
gold  and  gems  was  found,  enough  to  satisfy 
his  needs,  and  gratify  his  benevolent  impulses. 

Tiberius  had  no  son  to  succeed  him.  When 
he  felt  his  bodily  forces  failing,  he  betrothed  his 
younger  daughter,  Constantia,  to  Maurice,  the 
one  among  his  generals  whom  he  considered 
worthiest  to  wear  the  crown. 

" I pray  you,  Maurice, ” he  exhorted,  “ let 
your  reign  be  the  noblest  epitaph  in  my  honour. 
Shame  not  the  hopes  of  those  who  have  thus 
trusted  you.  Look  upon  the  sceptre  as  an 
emblem  of  slavery,  and  not  as  denoting  the 
unbridled  exercise  of  power.  Prefer  reproof  to 
flattery  in  your  counsellors.  Seek  to  be  loved 
rather  than  feared  by  your  subjects.  And 
remember  that,  whether  you  follow  my  advice 
or  not,  you  will  one  day  stand  before  the 
Judgment  Seat  of  God  whose  verdict  no  bribes 
can  sway.” 

Maurice,  the  new  emperor,  came  to  the 
throne  at  the  age  of  forty-three.  A rough, 
hard-working  soldier,  well  acquainted  with  the 
details  of  administration,  he  made  a good 
subordinate,  but  lacked  the  qualities  essential 
to  success  at  the  head  of  the  State.  His  brave 
death  belongs  to  another  chapter,  and  the  story 
of  the  trouble  he  was  to  cause  St.  Gregory. 


70 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


For  the  present  Maurice  was  all  smiles  and 
goodwill.  Like  Tiberius  he  had  no  men,  not 
even  a duke,  to  spare  for  Italy.  But  he  begged 
the  Pope’s  representative  to  act  as  godfather 
when  a son  was  born  to  him  “ in  the  purple.” 
And  Gregory  made  some  valued  friends  at  his 
Court,  notably  the  physician  Theodore,  who 
could  always  be  relied  upon  to  transmit  dis- 
agreeable messages  in  the  least  disagreeable 
manner.  The  Empress  Constantia,  also,  and 
her  sister  Theoctista  continued  through  life  his 
staunch  and  loyal  friends.  Both  these  ladies 
spoke  Latin  like  their  mother  tongue.  They 
came  to  St.  Gregory  for  advice  about  their 
souls,  and  attended  as  respectful  listeners  at 
the  discussions  in  the  Palace  Placidia. 

Our  saint  had  the  gift  of  making  and  of 
keeping  useful  friends.  Maximianus  his  abbot 
" upon  charity  came  to  visit  him  with  others  of 
his  monks,”  wisely  foreseeing  that  to  guide  St. 
Gregory  in  the  paths  of  holiness  was  the  greatest 
service  he  could  render  to  the  Church.  He 
resigned  St.  Andrew’s  to  the  abbot  Valens,  and 
came  to  Constantinople,  where  he  abode  at 
the  Placidia  a year,  or  maybe  two.  We  read  in 
the  Dialogues  of  " the  wrath  and  favour  of 
God  ” which  he  tasted  in  the  homeward  journey. 

For  a storm  befell  him  in  the  Adriatic. 
4t  The  sea  did  so  rage  with  the  fury  of  the  winds 


AT  CONSTANTINOPLE 


7i 

that  the  mast  was  swept  overboard  and  the 
sails  floated  upon  the  waves.  The  ship,  battered 
by  boisterous  billows,  leaked  so  fast  that  it 
seemed  not  so  much  the  ship  in  the  waters  as 
the  waters  in  the  ship.”  The  sailors  and 
passengers,  “ void  of  all  hope  in  this  life,” 
gave  one  another  the  kiss  of  peace,  and 
strengthened  their  souls  for  death  by  Holy 
Communion.  And  then,  “ God  who  had  wonder- 
fully terrified  their  minds  did  still  more 
wonderfully  preserve  their  lives.”  For  the  ship, 
thus  full  of  water,  held  on  her  course  for  yet 
another  week.  On  the  ninth  day  all  were  safely 
landed  in  the  port  of  Crotona.  “ The  reverend 
man,  Maximianus,  was  the  last  to  leave  the 
ship,  and  as  soon  as  he  set  foot  on  shore  the 
vessel  sank.  Whereby  God  gave  them  to 
understand  that  when  it  was  laden,  His  own 
Divine  Hand  did  direct  and  preserve  it ; and 
when  it  was  empty  and  His  Hand  withdrawn, 
it  could  not  continue  above  the  water.” 

Gregory  in  his  turn  received  letters  of  recall 
in  586.  Pelagius  meant  to  utilize  his  talent  for 
writing  good  business  letters,  and  perhaps 
foresaw  in  him  his  own  successor. 

No  need  now  to  make  the  journey  by  sea. 
We  may  assume  that  the  Court  functionaries 
accompanied  the  Pope’s  representative  in 
honourable  escort  as  far  as  the  eastern  boundary 


72  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


of  the  city.  As  he  parted  from  them  beneath 
the  triple  archway  of  the  Golden  Gate,  he  could 
look  backward  for  the  last  time  to  the  great 
porphyry  pillar  in  the  Agora  of  Constantine, 
and  from  his  heart  repeat  the  prayer  which  the 
imperial  founder  had  engraved  on  its  plinth  : 

" O Christ,  Master  and  Ruler  of  the  universe, 
to  Thee  have  I consecrated  this  obedient  city, 
and  this  sceptre  and  the  power  of  Rome.  Do 
Thou  guard  it  and  deliver  it  from  all  harm.” 

The  six  years  which  St.  Gregory  spent  in 
Constantinople,  gave  good  training  for  his 
future  career.  He  had  learnt  to  make  allowances 
for  the  effects  on  human  character  of  climate, 
luxury  and  form  of  government.  He  had  studied 
the  needs  and  tendencies  and  trend  of  thought 
in  the  Eastern  Churches.  He  had  made  many 
valuable  friendships.  He  had  secured  the  good- 
will of  influential  persons  about  the  Court.  He 
had  seen  the  perils  of  autocracy  in  both  Church 
and  State,  and  learned  to  treat  his  own  under- 
lings with  esteem  and  confidence.  He  had 
realized  that  the  emperor  was  a broken  reed  to 
lean  upon,  and  that  the  West  must  save  itself 
by  its  own  exertions,  and  by  the  vigorous  and 
independent  action  of  the  Holy  See. 

He  had  now  four  more  years  at  Rome,  in 
immediate  preparation  for  his  responsibilities 
as  the  Vicar  of  Christ  upon  earth, 


CHAPTER  V 


Abbot  of  St.  Andrews. 

SOON  after  his  return  to  his  monastery 
St.  Gregory  was  elected  abbot.  He 
found  the  community  regular  and 
fervent,  for  St.  Andrew’s  had  been  blessed  with 
a series  of  superiors  who  ruled  in  the  true  spirit 
of  St.  Benedict,  guiding  the  brethren  by  example 
and  discourse,  " reproving  the  disorderly  with 
sharpness,  but  exhorting  the  meek  and  patient 
with  entreaties,”  singling  out  none  for  favour, 
" unless  a monk  be  found  who  surpassed  his 
fellows  in  obedience  and  good  works.” 

The  new  abbot  had  but  to  continue  the 
system.  Four  happy  years  ensued  in  labour 
and  prayer  and  deeds  of  mercy,  in  unslackening 
watchfulness  lest  abuses  should  creep  in.  I ater 
in  life  he  thus  advises  Conan,  Abbot  of  Lerins  : 

” Let  the  good  feel  that  you  are  kind,  the 
evildoers  that  you  knowr  how  to  punish.  Be 
careful  to  love  the  men  themselves,  even  when 
you  deal  severely  with  their  faults.  Otherwise 
correction  will  be  cruelty,  and  you  will  lose 
those  wdiom  you  wish  to  improve.  A surgeon 
cuts  awray  what  is  diseased,  without  ulcerating 


74  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


the  sound  part  of  the  limb.  Should  he  press 
too  hard  upon  the  knife,  he  only  injures  the 
person  whom  he  is  anxious  to  benefit.  Your 
kindness  must  be  wary  and  not  lax,  your 
punishments  careful  and  assiduous,  not  unduly 
severe.  Attend  well  to  this  counsel,  my  beloved 
son,  so  that  the  fervent,  while  they  love  you, 
may  have  something  to  fear  ; and  the  lukewarm, 
while  they  fear  you,  may  have  something  to 
love.  Thus  you  yourself  may  render  in  safety 
to  God  all  those  whom  He  hath  entrusted  to 
your  care/1 

He  was  especially  careful  in  the  matter  of 
Holy  Poverty.  In  his  own  words,  “ The  desire 
to  acquire  private  property  is  a sure  sign  that 
a man  hath  not  the  heart  of  a true  monk. 
When  monks  possess  anything  as  their  own, 
neither  peace  nor  charity  can  long  endure. 
How  can  those  despise  the  world  who  even  in 
their  monastery  lust  after  gold  ? ” 

Such  was  the  theory.  A story  in  the 
Dialogues — a pleasant,  comforting  story  his 
listener  calls  it— illustrates  his  firm  and  tender 
treatment  of  the  souls  whom  he  guided  to  God. 

“ A monk  there  was  in  my  monastery,  Justus 
by  name,  skilled  in  the  art  of  medicine,  who 
served  me  diligently  in  my  frequent  ailments. 
His  brother,  Copiosus,  still  practises  as  a 
physician  in  Rome.  When  Justus  lay  at  the 


ABBOT  OF  ST.  ANDREW'S 


75 


point  of  death,  the  brethren  tossing  up  all  his 
phials  and  boxes  found  three  golden  solidi  * 
hidden  away  among  the  drugs.  This  discovery 
grieved  me  much.  I could  not  quietly  digest  so 
great  a sin,  for  it  was  a rule  in  our  monastery 
that  all  things  should  be  held  in  common  : 
private  ownership  was  quite  forbidden.  I 
pondered  what  was  best  to  be  done,  for  the 
cleansing  of  our  dying  brother,  and  lor  a 
warning  to  the  others.  At  length  I sent  for 
Pretiosus  the  prior  : 

" ‘ See/  quoth  I,  ‘ that  none  of  the  monks 
visit  Justus  in  his  sickness  nor  speak  to  him 
any  comforting  words.  And  should  he  ask  for 
the  brethren,  Copiosusis  to  tell  him  that  they  all 
loathe  him  for  the  three  coins  he  hath  in  hoard. 
And  thus  at  least  before  his  death  the  bitterness 
of  his  fault  may  sink  into  his  heart,  and  sorrow- 
may  purge  away  his  guilt.  And  dig  him  a grave 
in  some  dung-pit  or  other,  and  cast  the  three 
coins  into  it  together  with  his  body,  all  present 
crying  out  with  ore  accord,  “ Thy  money 
perish  with  thee  ! ” And  so  cast  earth  upon 
him/ 

" By  God's  goodness  all  fell  out  as  arranged. 
Justus,  when  he  heard  his  sentence,  straightway 
sighed  for  his  sin,  and  in  that  sorrow  gave  up 


* About  thirty  shillings  of  our  monej’. 


76  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


the  ghost.  And  the  other  monks  began 
immediately  to  give  up  the  trifles  which  it  was 
quite  lawful  to  have  by  them  for  their  use  and 
convenience." 

A month  later  the  abbot  again  called  the 
prior,  and  said  to  him  with  a heavy  heart : 

" Our  brother  is  now  a good  while  tormented 
in  fire.  It  is  high  time  that  we  show  him  some 
charity,  and  labour  to  set  him  free.  Go,  there- 
fore, and  arrange  that  for  thirty  days  the  holy 
and  health-giving  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  be 
offered  for  his  absolution/' 

So  said,  so  done.  But  Gregory,  busied  with 
many  cares,  kept  no  account  of  the  days. 
When  the  thirtieth  Mass  had  been  said — the 
first  mention  of  a trental  or  month's  mind — 
Copiosus,  who  knew  nothing  of  the  arrangement, 
saw  his  brother  in  a dream.  And  Justus  said  to 
him,  with  joy  in  his  countenance  : 

“ Hitherto  I have  been  in  bad  case.  But 
now  all  is  well.  To-day  I am  received  into  the 
company  of  the  Blessed." 

Incidentally  we  gather  from  the  story  that 
the  monks  lived  very  frugally,  and  that  the 
abbot  trusted  the  prior  with  the  details  of 
administration.  St.  Andrew's  was  well  endowed, 
and  Pretiosus  saw  to  it  that  there  was  always 
a surplus  fund  for  almsgiving  and  good  works. 
While  St.  Gregory  was  abbot,  the  foundations 


ABBOT  OF  ST.  ANDREW’S 


77 


were  laid  of  the  Church  which  he  lived  to 
consecrate. 

The  memory  of  his  own  freedom  from  money- 
straits  made  him,  all  his  life,  inclined  to  help 
communities  less  happily  circumstanced.  Thus 
in  the  fifth  year  of  his  pontificate,  he  wrote  to 
Elias,  an  abbot  in  Isauria  : 

“ You  have  asked  for  fifty  shillings  to  be  sent 
to  you  for  the  wants  of  your  monastery.  But 
thinking  this  too  much,  you  say  you  will  send 
us  back  ten,  and  lest  even  this  be  burdensome, 
you  are  willing  to  return  still  more  to  us. 
Because  we  find  that  you  are  very  merciful  to 
our  charity,  we  reply  to  your  mercy  thus.  We 
have  sent  fifty  shillings  already,  and  lest  this 
be  too  little  we  send  ten  more,  and  in  case  this 
be  too  little  we  add  yet  another  twelve.” 

In  another  case  he  instructs  his  business  man 
to  befriend  a community  of  nuns  : 

" We  are  impelled  by  the  duty  of  piety  to 
make  due  provision  for  convents,  lest  those  who 
are  known  to  be  set  apart  for  the  service  of 
God  should  suffer  want,  which  God  forbid.” 

He  had  now  leisure  to  complete  his  com- 
mentary on  the  Book  of  Job.  He  sent  a copy 
to  St.  Leander  at  Seville,  and  enclosed  a 
covering  letter  : 

" The  first  parts  of  the  book  I preached  to 
the  brethren,  the  latter  parts  I dictated. 


78  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Finally,  when  I had  more  time  at  my  disposal, 
I corrected  and  re-arranged  all  that  had  been 
taken  down  by  the  brethren  as  I delivered  it 
in  discourse,  adding  much,  omitting  a little, 
bringing  the  notes  taken  at  Constantinople  into 
harmony  with  the  style  of  the  part  dictated  in 
this  city.  But  I have  not  been  able  to  correct 
the  third  part  with  any  degree  of  exactness, 
because  the  brethren  continually  drew  awa>  my 
attention  to  other  things/ ' 

Gregory  was  lenient  to  the  faulty  diction  of 
his  scribes,  as  long  as  it  expressed  his  real 
meaning.  Bat  he  speaks  very  slightingly  of 
this  great  work  of  his,  which  his  own  and 
succeeding  ages  have  held  in  high  esteem.  He 
compares  his  own  expounding  of  Holy  Writ  to 
the  brute  braying  of  an  ass,  to  a leaden  pipe 
supplying  pure  water  for  the  service  of  men. 

When  Innocent,  the  prefect  of  Africa,  wrote 
for  a copy  of  the  Moralia,  he  sent  it  indeed,  but 
coupled  with  the  advice  : 

“ If  you  wish  to  feast  on  delicious  fare,  read 
the  works  of  your  countryman,  the  Blessed 
Augustine,  and  do  not  seek  our  bran  in 
preference  to  his  wheat.” 

He  was  displeased  when  word  reached  him 
that  Marinianus,  Archbishop  of  Ravenna,  had 
ordered  portions  of  the  work  to  be  read  at 
Matins  in  his  churches. 


ABBOT  OF  ST.  ANDREW’S 


79 


“ With  an  uninstructed  audience/’  he  wrote, 
“ it  is  likely  to  do  more  harm  than  good.  Have 
read  instead  some  commentary  on  the  psalms 
which  may  mould  the  minds  of  the  people  to 
good  habits.  As  long  as  I live  I do  not  wish 
that  anything  I have  composed  should  become 
generally  known.” 

Marinianus  of  Ravenna,  Maximianus  of 
Syracuse,  Augustine  the  Apostle  of  England, 
these  and  such  as  these  were  the  men  who  lived 
under  St.  Gregory  at  St.  Andrew’s.  Their 
monastic  training  fitted  them  peculiarly  for  the 
pastoral  office  which  they  were  to  exercise  later 
on.  They  did  not  misunderstand,  when  he  chid 
them  in  charity  for  their  weaknesses  and 
idiosyncrasies.  The  abbot-pope  thoroughly 
understood  monks.  He  knew  their  influence 
over  others,  he  foresaw'  their  worth  to  the 
Church.  But  as  Mgr.  Mann  so  well  observes,  in 
his  Lives  of  the  Popes  : 

" The  monks  were  practically  a new  element 
in  the  Church — in  the  West  at  least,  and  in 
that  development  they  had  received  through 
the  organising  hand  of  St.  Benedict.  Naturally 
then,  time  was  required  to  fix  their  relations  to 
the  authorities  of  the  Church,  and  for  themselves 
to  settle  down  as  one  of  its  ordinary  working 
powers.” 

It  needed  a monk-pope  in  the  first  instance 


8o 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


to  bring  their  rule  into  harmony  with  Canon 
Law,  so  that  the  rights  of  abbots  and  bishops 
might  not  clash. 

In  601  he  issued  an  encyclical.  “ Gregory 
the  Bishop,  Servant  of  the  Servants  of  God, 
to  all  bishops. 

“ The  office  formerly  held  by  Us  in  the 
government  of  a monastery  has  shown  Us  how 
necessary  it  is  to  provide  for  the  quiet  of 
monasteries,  and  to  legislate  for  their  stability. 
. . . We  therefore  interdict  in  the  Name  of 
Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  by  the  authority  of 
Blessed  Peter  the  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  in 
whose  place  we  preside  over  the  Church,  We 
forbid  any  bishop  or  layman,  by  any  means  in 
the  future,  to  diminish  the  revenues,  or  the 
property,  of  monasteries,  or  cells,  or  farms  which 
belong  to  them,  or  to  attempt  it  by  fraud  or 
evasion.  ...  At  the  death  of  an  abbot  a 
stranger  shall  not  be  elected,  unless  the  brethren 
themselves  choose  him  of  their  own  free  will, 
and  he  who  is  elected  shall  be  consecrated 
without  fraud  or  bribery.  ...  No  person, 
under  any  pretext,  shall  be  placed  over  a 
constituted  abbot,  unless  for  crimes  which  the 
Sacred  Canons  declare  should  be  punished.  . . . 

“ We  altogether  forbid  a bishop  to  celebrate 
public  masses  in  a monastery,  lest  occasion  be 
given  for  any  assembly  of  people  in  the  retreats 


ABBOT  OF  ST.  ANDREW’S 


81 


of  the  servants  of  God,  or  for  the  introduction 
of  women  into  their  precincts,  which  is  by  no 
means  good  for  their  souls.  A bishop  shall  not 
establish  his  cathedral  chair  in  a monastery, 
nor  exercise  therein  any  power  of  any  kind, 
nor  make  even  the  slightest  regulation,  unless 
requested  by  the  local  abbot.  Without  the 
knowledge  and  consent  of  the  abbot  no  monk 
may  be  placed  in  charge  of  a church,  or  be 
promoted  to  any  dignity.” 

The  bishops  accepted  the  encyclical  in  the 
spirit  in  which  it  was  drafted.  One  copy  is  on 
record,  signed  by  twenty-twro  bishops  and 
sixteen  priests  : 

“ We  rejoice  in  the  liberty  of  the  monks,  and 
confirm  w7hat  your  Holiness  has  written  about 
them.” 

St.  Gregory’s  letters  abound  in  instances  of 
his  zeal  for  the  spiritual  and  temporal  welfare 
of  religious  of  either  sex. 

At  one  time  he  notifies  the  Bishop  of  Cagliari 
of  “an  evil  which  Your  Fraternity  will  remove.” 
Because  no  procurator  had  been  assigned  to 
any  convent  in  Sardinia,  “ the  virgins  dedicated 
to  God  are  compelled  to  go  through  villages 
and  farms  to  pay  taxes  and  mix  themselves  up 
in  business  only  suitable  for  men.” 

Other  letters  empower  bishops  to  consecrate 
convent  chapels,  “provided  it  is  clear  that  no 

F 


82 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


corpse  has  been  buried  there/'  provided  also 
that  the  convents  are  suitably  endowed.  In  one 
case  he  insists  on  ten  shillings  of  revenue,  free 
from  local  tribute,  eight  slaves,  three  yoke  of 
oxen,  ten  horses,  ten  cows,  forty  sheep,  and  four 
plants  for  vines.  In  another  the  bishop  is 
expected  to  provide  and  secure  his  gift  by 
municipal  deed,  " a silver  chalice,  a silver  paten, 
three  altar-cloths,  ten  beds,  fifty  sets  of  utensils 
in  brass  and  iron,  two  specified  farms,  two 
slaves*  (Maurus  and  John)  and  two  yoke  of 
oxen."  No  detail  seems  too  insignificant  to 
escape  this  watchful  father  in  God. 

On  the  other  hand,  he  is  stern  with  religious 
who  abuse  the  privileges  he  was  at  such  pains 
to  secure  for  them.  He  is  much  displeased  at 
a petition  from  a monastery  near  Ravenna. 
" They  seem  to  me  themselves  wroildly-minded 
since  they  seek  to  have  a worldling  as 
abbot." 

He  writes  to  the  monks  of  Monte  Cristo  : 
" We  have  been  told  that  you  do  not  keep  your 
rule.  We  are  obliged  to  send  to  you  the  abbot 
Horosius,  bearer  of  this  command.  He  comes 
to  inquire  minutely  into  all  your  doings,  to 
order  whatsoever  shall  appear  to  him  seemly, 
and  to  report  to  Us.  We  admonish  you  to  obey 


* For  his  views  in  slavery  see  Chapter  XI. 


ABBOT  OF  ST.  ANDREW'S  83 


him  with  all  reverence,  as  if  his  commands  come 
to  you  direct  from  Us." 

He  sends  an  abbot,  weighed  and  found 
wanting,  with  a letter  to  the  Bishop  of  Palermo. 
“ On  no  consideration  will  We  allow  the  bearer, 
Gregory,  abbot  and  priest  of  the  monastery  of 
St.  Theodore,  ever  again  to  preside  over  a house 
which  he  has  proved  himself  unworthy  to 
govern.  For  his  negligence  has  led  too  many 
disciples  astray.  But  since  he  has  done  penance 
for  a long  time  here,  under  our  eyes,  it  is  fitting 
that  Your  Fraternity  shall  receive  him  back 
into  the  aforesaid  monastery.  Urbicus,  the 
prior  of  my  monastery,  will  send  someone  to 
become  his  prior." 

" My  monastery " was,  of  course,  St. 
Andrew’s,  on  the  Coelian  Hill,  whose  head 
superior,  during  his  pontificate,  was  always 
called  prior  instead  of  abbot.  For  as  long  as 
life  lasted,  St.  Gregory  kept  in  touch  with  each 
of  his  monks.  The  Dialogues  abound  in  instances 
of  their  holiness  and  of  their  happy  deaths.  His 
tenderness  and  zeal  are  shown  still  more 
strikingly  in  his  fatherly  pursuit  of  the  ex-monk, 
Venantius  ; but  the  story  has  to  be  pieced  out 
from  letters  extending  over  a series  of  years. 

Venantius  was  a rich  nobleman  of  Syracuse 
who  took  the  habit  at  St.  Andrew’s,  but  forsook 
the  cloister  in  order  to  marry  Italica,  a beautiful 


84  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


and  accomplished  lady,  whose  charms,  St. 
Gregory  piously  hopes,  were  not  the  outward 
covering  of  a hidden  sore  in  her  soul.  His 
friends  and  clients  were  numerous.  He  seems 
to  have  been  one  of  the  great  men  in  Sicily 
with  influential  connections  at  the  Court  of 
Constantinople.  Things  were  going  well  with 
the  prodigal,  when  St.  Gregory  addressed  his 
first  letter  to  him,  shortly  after  he  became 
Pope. 

“ Many  foolishly  thought  that  I should  now 
decline  to  speak  or  write  to  you.  But  it  is  not 
so.  My  very  position  compels  me,  and  I cannot 
be  silent.  Whether  you  wish  it  or  not,  I shall 
not  hold  my  peace  ; for  with  all  my  strength 
I wish  you  to  be  saved,  or  at  any  rate  to  free 
myself  from  the  guilt  of  your  destruction. 
Remember  the  habit  which  once  you  wore. 
Ponder  how  low  you  have  fallen,  because  you 
put  away  from  you  the  thought  of  the  severe 
judgments  of  Almighty  God.  Tremble,  while 
yet  there  is  time,  lest  you  taste  the  bitterness  of 
His  wrath  when  you  can  no  longer  escape  from 
it  by  tears. 

"You  know'  the  punishment  meted  out  to 
Ananias  for  taking  aw?ay  from  God  the  money 
which  he  had  vov7ed.  Consider  your  own  peril 
at  the  Judgment  Seat,  for  you  have  withdrawn 
not  coin  but  yourself  whom  you  have  dedicated 


ABBOT  OF  ST.  ANDREW'S  85 


wholly  to  God  when  you  became  a monk. 
I speak  to  you  in  sorrow  ; nay,  stricken  with 
grief  at  your  sin,  I can  scarce  speak  at  all. 
Yet  you,  conscious  of  your  guilt,  you  can  scarce 
endure  to  hear  me.  You  blush,  you  are  confused, 
you  remonstrate.  If  the  words  of  my  dust  are 
so  hard  to  bear,  what  will  you  do  when  your 
Creator  utters  your  doom  ? Great  is  the  mercy 
of  Divine  Grace  ! God  sees  you  fleeing  from 
life,  and  preserves  you  for  life.  He  sees  you 
proud  and  bears  with  your  pride.  He  inspires 
His  unworthy  servant  to  rebuke  and  admonish. 

" I know  that  when  this  letter  reaches  you, 
your  friends  and  literary  clients  will  immediately 
assemble.  You  will  seek  counsel  in  a case  of 
life  or  death  from  men  who  are  advocates  of 
death,  who  love  not  you  but  your  money,  who 
say  only  what  will  please  for  the  time.  Such 
men  as  these,  you  remember,  led  you  on  to 
your  great  sin.  To  quote  Seneca,  * Weigh  well 
all  matters  with  your  friends,  but  first  of  all 
weigh  well  your  friends  themselves/ 

" If  you  want  advice,  choose  me  for  your 
adviser.  I will  counsel  you  faithfully,  for  I love 
not  your  goods,  but  you.  May  Almighty  God 
reveal  to  your  heart  with  what  love  and  charity 
my  heart  embraces  you,  as  far  as  grace  allows. 
I blame  your  fault,  because  I love  yourself. 
I love  you  so  dearly  that  I will  have  none  of 


86 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


your  wicked  sin.  Believe  in  my  love  and  come 
to  me  for  advice,  here  at  the  threshold  of  the 
Apostles.  If  perchance  you  suspect  me  as  too 
exacting  on  God's  behalf,  I am  ready  to  call 
the  whole  Church  into  Council  upon  the  question, 
and  whatever  all  agree  can  be  done  with  safety, 
1 shall  not  oppose,  but  gladly  endorse  the 
common  decision.  Do  as  I advise,  and  may  the 
Grace  of  God  preserve  you." 

But  the  ex-monk  hardened  his  heart.  In 
596  he  and  his  unruly  retainers  gave  such 
scandal  that  John,  Bishop  of  Syracuse  refused 
his  gifts  and  forbade  Mass  to  be  said  in  his 
house.  The  Pope  wrote  gently  to  Venantius, 
advising  him  to  be  reconciled  to  his  bishop  ; 
and  he  enjoined  the  bishop  to  accept  his 
offerings,  and  himself  to  say  Mass  in  the  private 
chapel. 

In  601  Italica  was  dead,  and  Venantius  a 
dying  man.  St.  Gregory  wrote  twice,  urging 
him  to  care  less  for  his  bodily  ailments  than 
for  the  health  of  his  soul. 

" Pain  is  sent  to  teach  us  the  fear  of  God, 
and  so  to  shield  us  from  the  punishment  our 
sins  deserve.  There  are  millions  of  men 
wallowing  in  wanton  ease,  headlong  in 
blasphemy  and  pride,  obdurate  in  robbery  and 
wickedness,  who  have  nev^er  had  so  much  as  a 
headache  to  trouble  them,  but  have  been  struck 


ABBOT  OF  ST.  ANDREW'S  87 


down  suddenly  and  plunged  into  hell  fire.  It  is 
a token  that  God  does  not  forsake  us,  when  He 
scourges  us  continually  through  the  affliction  of 
the  flesh." 

In  these  letters  there  is  no  direct  reference  to 
Venantius's  guilt.  But  St.  Gregory  wrote  so 
well  to  the  Bishop  of  Syracuse  : 

“ Exhort,  entreat,  set  before  him  God's 
dreadful  judgments,  hold  out  the  promise  of 
God’s  ineffable  mercy,  so  that  at  even  at  the 
last  hour  he  may  be  induced  to  return  to  his 
former  state,  and  so  his  great  sin  may  not  stand 
against  him  in  the  eternal  judgment." 

Venantius  left  two  daughters,  Barbara  and 
Antonina.  St.  Gregory  expressed  annoyance 
because  the  emperor  and  not  himself  had  been 
appointed  guardian  to  the  orphaned  girls.  But 
no  hint  of  this  comes  out  in  his  letter  of 
affectionate  advice  : 

“ I implore  Almighty  God  to  safeguard  you 
from  evil  thoughts  and  from  perverse  men,  and 
to  settle  you  happily  in  a marriage  whereat  we 
may  all  rejoice.  My  sweet  daughters,  trust  in 
Him  to  help  you.  Under  the  shadow  of  His 
defence  may  you  ever  escape  the  snares  of  the 
wicked.  You  say  you  are  hastening  to  the 
Threshold  of  St.  Peter,  Prince  of  the  Apostles. 
I fervently  hope  to  see  you  united  in  his  church 
to  worthy  husbands.  So  may  you  obtain  some 


88  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


little  comfort  from  me,  and  I may  have  great 
joy  from  your  presence.  . . . 

" I accept  with  pleasure  your  gift  of  two  rugs 
which  you  tell  me  you  have  made  yourselves. 
But  that  I do  not  believe.  You  seek  to  be 
praised  for  the  work  of  others.  Very  likely 
you  have  never  handled  a distaff.  Yet  this 
does  not  trouble  me,  for  I wish  you  to  love 
reading  the  Scriptures,  so  that,  when  you  have 
husbands,  you  may  know  how  to  order  your 
lives  aright  and  how  to  conduct  your  house- 
holds.” 

In  his  last  letter  to  Venantius,  St.  Gregory 
alludes  to  his  own  gout.  This  malady  had 
gripped  him  so  acutely  that  in  the  year  600  he 
had  not  left  his  bed  for  two  years  except  to 
say  Mass  on  feast  days. 

" Almost  immediately  I am  forced  to  lie  down 
again  so  that  I may  ease  the  torture  with 
occasional  groans.  Sometimes  the  pain  is 
moderate,  sometimes  excessive  ; but  it  is  never 
so  moderate  as  to  leave  me,  and  never  so 
excessive  as  to  kill  me.  Hence  it  happens  that 
I die  daily,  and  daily  am  snatched  from  the 
jaws  of  death/' 

Equal  in  pathos  is  his  heart-outpouring  next 
year  to  his  spiritual  son,  Marinianus. 

“ At  one  time  the  pain  of  the  gout  is  torture. 
At  another,  I know  not  what  fire  spreads  itself 


ABBOT  OF  ST.  ANDREW'S  89 


all  through  my  body.  Sometimes  the  burning 
struggles  with  the  gout,  and  body  and  mind 
seem  to  part  company.  Between  the  attacks 
I am  so  exhausted  that  I await  death  as  the 
only  remedy  for  my  ills.  Dear  brother,  ask 
mercy  for  me  from  our  All-Merciful  God,  that 
He  may  mitigate  the  scourge  with  which  He 
chastens  me  and  grant  me  patience  to  endure. 
Pray,  dearest  brother,  lest  the  heart  (which  God 
forbid  !)  from  over-weariness  become  impatient, 
lest  murmuring  increase  the  faults  which  can  be 
thoroughly  cured  by  pain  well  borne." 

It  is  well  to  emphasise  thus  early  in  his 
biography  that  Gregory  was  one  of  those 
master-spirits  who  have  made  their  mark  in 
history,  while  themselves  a prey  to  bodily 
disease.  Our  own  Alfred  the  Great  is  a case 
in  point — the  King  who  prayed  for  some 
infirmity  that  would  keep  him  humble,  yet  not 
interfere  with  his  work  nor  render  him  con- 
temptible in  the  eyes  of  his  subjects.  England's 
Darling  had  studied  to  some  purpose,  and  learnt 
from  St.  Gregory  to  define  Patience  as 
“ Humility  in  endurance."  And  so  we  apply 
to  this  King  and  to  this  Pope  what  Fuller  says 
of  a Renaissance  ruler,  far  less  loved  and  love- 
worthy than  either  : “ His  eager  soul,  biting 
at  the  clay  of  his  body,  desired  to  fret  a passage 
through." 


90  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREA1 


Sick  or  well  our  holy  Pope  never  slackened 
in  zeal.  “ He  was  always  busy,”  writes  Paul 
the  Deacon,  “ providing  for  the  needs  of  his 
flock,  writing  some  treatise  worthy  of  the 
Church,  searching  out  the  secrets  of  heaven  in 
holy  prayer.” 

Even  at  St.  Andrew7’s  the  prayers  and  tears 
of  Eleutherius  could  not  ahvays  win  him  a 
respite  from  the  inconveniences  of  ill-health. 
Witness  his  letter  to  St.  Leander,  already 
quoted,  where  he  urges  among  other  apologies 
for  the  lack  of  polish  in  the  M or  alia  from  the 
Book  of  Job  : 

" I am  suffering  from  a series  of  slow  fevers. 
For  many  a long  year  the  powers  of  my  digestive 
organs  are  so  disordered  that  I am  always  ailing. 
And  what  is  the  body  but  the  instrument  of 
the  mind  ? However  skilled  the  musician,  he 
can  extract  only  grating  sounds  from  a cracked 
flute.  . . . Perchance  it  is  the  Will  of  God 
that,  as  one  struck  by  Him,  I should  expound 
Job  in  his  affliction,  and  that  under  the  scourge 
myself  I should  better  understand  the  mind  of 
one  so  scourged.” 


CHAPTER  VI. 


The  Procession  on  St.  Mark's  Day. 

POPE  ST.  GREGORY  had  in  his  mind 
other  abbots,  healthier  than  he,  and 
less  liable  to  be  diverted  from  their 
work  by  the  need  of  writing  books,  when  he 
wrote  to  Maximianus,  once  his  own  superior  at 
St.  Andrew's,  and  now  Bishop  of  Syracuse  : 

" Do  not  allow  priests  or  deacons  or  persons 
of  any  grade  who  serve  churches  to  be  at  the 
same  time  abbots  in  monasteries.  The  duties 
of  each  office  are  so  engrossing  that  no  one  can 
attend  properly  to  both." 

The  Pope  whom  he  succeeded,  Pelagius  II, 
had  himself  been  a monk  in  Monte  Cassino. 
He  knew,  therefore,  that  Abbot  Gregory  had 
enough  on  his  hands — his  monks,  his  desk-work, 
his  charities,  the  building  of  his  church.  Yet 
Pelagius  had  to  make  calls  on  his  time. 

The  affair  of  the  Three  Chapters  menaced 
schism.  To  Gregory's  pen  w?as  entrusted  the 
delicate  task  of  inducing  the  Italian  bishops  to 
acquiesce  in  the  decision  of  the  Holy  See. 
There  were  other  points  on  which  his  experience 
was  invaluable — the  concerns  of  the  Eastern 


92 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Churches,  for  instance,  and  all  dealings  with  the 
emperor.  And  most  certainly  he  was  at  the 
right  hand  of  Pelagius  in  the  last  dreadful  year 
of  his  pontificate,  when  Rome  was  afflicted  with 
the  threefold  scourge  of  famine,  war  and 
pestilence. 

War  wras  nothing  new7.  The  Lombards 
terrorised  the  land  since  568,  and  famine 
followed  in  their  wake.  Yet  wffleat  from  Sicily 
and  Egypt  came  regularly  by  sea  to  Ostia,  and 
w7as  stored  in  the  imperial  granaries  of  Old  Rome 
for  distribution  among  the  citizens. 

In  589  Duke  Zotto  burnt  Monte  Cassino ; 
and  the  moi  ks  fled  to  Rome,  laden  “ like  pack- 
asses  ” wdth  their  precious  books.  In  the 
autumn  of  that  same  year  a series  of  floods  and 
earthquakes  played  havoc  with  the  standing 
crops  in  various  parts  of  Italy.  At  Verona  there 
occurred  a marvel  w7hich  St.  Gregory,  in  his 
Dialogues,  likens  to  the  miracle  of  the  Three 
Children  in  the  Fiery  Furnace. 

“For  the  river  Adige  did  so  swell,  that  it 
came  to  the  church  of  the  holy  bishop  and 
martyr  St.  Zeno,  and  rose  as  high  as  the  windows 
not  far  from  the  roof  itself.  The  church  doors 
stood  open,  but  the  thin  liquid  formed  a solid 
wrall  that  barred  all  exit.  The  people,  forced  to 
remain  in  the  church,  took  of  this  w7ater  to 
quench  their  thirst.  It  stood  there  in  the  door- 


THE  PROCESSION 


93 


way,  water  to  them  for  their  comfort,  and  yet 
not  water  to  ruin  the  place.  All  this  showed 
the  merits  of  Christ's  martyr,  St.  Zeno." 

The  Tiber,  too,  overflowed  its  banks.  It  ran 
over  the  walls  of  Rome,  says  our  saint,  turned 
the  low-lying  district  around  the  Vatican  into 
a foetid  swamp,  and  undermined  the  buildings  in 
the  Campus  Martius.  We  read  of  a dragon  of 
huge  size,  choking  in  the  salt  waters  at  the 
river's  mouth,  and  poisoning  the  air  with  its 
putrefying  breath. 

Stripped  of  metaphor,  the  plague  was  in 
Rome,  a compound  of  typhus  fever  with  the 
more  malignant  forms  of  measles  and  small-pox. 
Death  followed  close  upon  seizure.  When  a 
man  sneezed,  the  bystanders  cried  “ God  bless 
you."  When  a man  yawned,  he  himself  traced 
the  Sign  of  the  Cross  in  front  of  his  open  mouth. 
For  yawning  and  sneezing  were  sure  symptoms 
of  the  disease.  In  the  delirium  that  ensued, 
strange  sights  were  seen.  Sometimes  sinners 
died  in  despair.  Sometimes  they  recovered  and 
reformed  their  lives.  Several  curious  stories  in 
the  Dialogues  refer  to  this  scourge. 

The  monks  of  St.  Andrew's,  at  any  rate,  were 
not  afraid  of  contact  with  the  plague-stricken. 
St.  Gregory  writes  : “ There  was  in  my 

monastery  a very  unruly  lad  named  Theodore, 
who  came  to  us  more  upon  necessity  than  of 


94  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


his  own  accord.  He  could  not  bear  that  anyone 
should  speak  a word  to  him  for  the  good  of  his 
soul.  He  would  neither  do  good  works  nor 
hearken  to  anything  good.  With  oaths,  with 
angry  words,  with  curses,  with  scoffing  laughter, 
he  protested  that  he  never  meant  to  put  on  the 
habit  of  a holy  life.  This  untoward  boy  was 
striken  with  the  plague.  One  half  of  his  body 
was  already  dead,  and  only  in  his  breast  a little 
life  remained.  The  monks  knelt  around  his 
couch,  and  the  nearer  they  saw  him  to  his  end, 
the  more  fervently  did  they  commend  him  to 
God’s  mercy. 

" ' Depart,  depart,’  he  called  out  suddenly. 

* I am  given  over  to  a dragon  to  be  devoured, 
and  he  cannot  devour  me  because  you  are  here. 
He  has  already  swallowed  my  head.  Let  him 
be,  that  he  may  not  torture  me  longer,  but  do 
what  he  has  to  do.’ 

“ ‘ What  words  are  these  ? ’ they  made 
answer.  ‘ Strengthen  thyself,  Brother,  with  the 
Sign  of  the  Cross.’ 

“ ' I wish  I could  ! ’ he  replied,  ' but  I am 
fettered  by  the  coils  of  the  dragon.’ 

“ The  monks  fell  prostrate  on  the  ground,  and 
prayed  in  zeal  with  tears.  And  presently  the 
boy  called  out  again  : 

“ ' Thank  God,  the  dragon  at  last  has  fled  ! 
He  could  not  abide  your  prayers.  Now,  I 


THE  PROCESSION 


95 


beseech  you,  make  intercession  for  my  sins, 
for  I am  fully  resolved  to  become  a monk/ 

“ And  indeed  he  came  back  to  life,  and 
turned  to  God  with  his  whole  heart.  He  was 
still  a long  time  chastised  with  afflictions  before 
his  soul  departed  from  the  miseries  of  this 
mortal  life." 

The  reigning  Pope  fell  a victim  to  the  plague, 
and  died  on  the  7th  of  February,  590.  The 
choice  of  his  successor  rested  with  the  clergy, 
the  senate  and  the  people  of  Rome,  and  the 
votes  were  unanimous  in  Gregory's  favour. 
He  had  good  birth,  sound  judgment,  virtue, 
talent,  business  experience,  and  was  popular 
both  in  Rome  and  at  the  Court  of  Constantinople. 

It  was  most  unlikely  that  the  emperor  would 
withhold  his  consent.  Yet  it  was  on  Maurice's 
veto  that  the  Pope-elect  pinned  his  hopes,  for 
the  Romans  were  deaf  to  his  tears  and 
entreaties.  He  wrote  off  at  once  to  the  emperor 
and  to  influential  persons  at  Court.  Afterwards 
he  blamed  his  friends  at  Constantinople  for 
their  inertia  at  this  crisis  of  his  fortunes.  The 
truth  is  they  never  received  his  letters.  The 
prefect  of  Rome  detained  his  courier,  and  sent 
off  instead  the  official  papers  dealing  with  the 
election,  and  sound  reasons  besides  to  show 
Gregory's  fitness  for  the  high  responsibilities  to 
which  he  was  called. 


96  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Months  elapsed  before  an  answer  could  arrive. 
Meanwhile  the  plague  increased  its  ravages. 
Fear  paralysed  all  efforts  to  control  it,  panic 
added  to  the  death  roll,  the  dead  remained 
unburied.  Gregory  sent  his  monks  among  the 
citizens  to  exhort,  to  encourage,  to  enforce 
sanitation.  He  himself  mounted  the  ambo  in 
one  of  the  principal  churches,  and  preached  on 
the  efficacy  of  contrite  prayer. 

“ Affliction  oftentimes  leads  to  conversion. 
May  God’s  chastisements  soften  our  hard 
hearts  ! You  see  yourselves  there  is  no  interval 
of  ill-health  between  seizure  and  death.  Before 
the  sufferer  has  time  to  repent  he  is  gone.  And 
oh  ! in  what  fearful  plight  does  that  man  stand, 
who  meets  the  glance  of  the  terrible  Judge, 
before  he  has  time  to  bewail  his  sins.  Whole 
households  die  in  batches.  Parents  see  their 
children  go  before  them  to  the  grave.  We  must 
seek  safety  in  compunction  before  we  are  struck 
down,  and  while  there  is  time  to  weep. 

" Let  us  recall  our  sins  to  mind  so  that  we 
may  ask  God  to  forgive  them,  and  lift  up  our 
hands  with  our  hearts  to  God,  heightening  the 
earnestness  of  our  prayers  by  the  merits  of  good 
works.  He  gives  confidence  to  our  trembling, 
who  says  by  the  mouth  of  His  prophet  : * I 
will  not  the  death  of  a sinner,  but  that  he  be 
converted  and  live/  Let  none  despair  because 


THE  PROCESSION 


97 


his  crimes  are  heinous,  since  three  days’  prayer 
purged  the  Ninivites,  hardened  in  sin.  The 
converted  robber  earned  eternal  life  in  the  very 
instant  of  his  death.  . . . 

" Let  us  persist  with  clamorous  tears. 
Importunity  annoys  men  but  pleases  the  God 
of  truth.  . . . And  so,  beloved  brethren,  with 
contrite  hearts  and  amended  lives,  let  us 
assemble  on  the  fourth  day  of  the  week,  at 
early  dawn,  in  seven  groups,  singing  litanies 
through  the  streets  of  Rome.” 

Very  early  on  the  appointed  day — it  was 
Wednesday,  the  25th  of  April — the  priests  were 
astir  in  the  principal  church  of  each  of  the  seven 
regions.  For  the  clergy  of  Rome  were  to  meet 
at  the  Church  of  Saints  Cosmas  and  Damian, 
the  abbots  and  their  monks  at  Saints  Gervasius 
and  Protasius,  the  abbesses  and  their  nuns  at 
Saints  Marcellinus  and  Peter,  the  children  at 
Saints  John  and  Paul,  the  men  at  St.  Stephen, 
the  married  women  at  St.  Clement,  and  the 
widows  at  St.  Euphemia.  And  as  the  seven 
groups  wound  slowly  through  the  city  streets, 
eighty  persons  fell  out  of  the  ranks  to  drop  dead 
of  the  plague.  But  the  suppliant  chant  never 
faltered. 

At  St.  Mary  Major,  Gregory  awaited  to  exhort 
anew  to  confidence  in  persevering  prayer.  He 
now  took  his  place  in  the  procession,  and  at 

G 


98  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


its  head  he  caused  to  be  borne  aloft  the 
miraculous  image  which,  according  to  the 
Golden  Legend,  " St.  Luke  the  Evangelist  had 
carved  and  painted  after  the  likeness  of  the 
glorious  Mother  of  God.” 

From  St.  Mary's  on  the  Esquiline  they  moved 
westward  to  St.  Peter's  on  the  Vatican.  And 
when  they  came  to  the  bridge  that  spanned  the 
Tiber  they  saw,  on  the  topmost  cupola  of 
Hadrian's  marble  mausoleum,  the  archangel 
St.  Michael  in  the  act  of  sheathing  his  flaming 
sword.  And  anon  the  mortality  ceased,  the 
air  became  wholesome  and  clear,  and  round  the 
image  of  Our  Lady  angelic  voices  brought  to 
earth  the  three  first  lines  of  the  Easter  anthem  : 

" Regina  Cceli  laetare,  Alleluia  ! 

Quia  quern  meruisti  portare.  Alleluia  ! 

Resurrexit  sicut  dixit,  Alleluia  ! 

And  when  the  heavenly  music  ceased,  St. 
Gregory  lifted  his  voice  in  glad  and  grateful 
confidence  : 

” Ora  pro  nobis,  Deum,  Alleluia  ! ” 

Soon  came  sorrow  to  mingle  with  his  joy. 
Letters  from  the  emperor  reached  Rome  in  the 
summer.  Maurice  was  delighted  with  the  choice 
of  the  electors.  Gregory's  feelings  may  be 
gauged  from  his  letters. 


THE  PROCESSION 


99 


To  the  emperor's  sister-in-lav/,  Theoctista, 
he  wrote  in  his  dismay  : “ I am  now  more  in 
bondage  to  earthly  cares  than  ever  I was  as  a 
layman.  I have  lost  the  deep  joy  of  solitude, 
and  while  I am  outwardly  exalted,  my  spiritual 
self  is  cast  down  headlong  into  an  abyss.  . . . 
Amid  the  whirlwind  of  this  trial  I fear  and 
tremble,  and  not  for  myself  alone.  1 am 
terribly  afraid  for  those  committed  to  my 
care.  . . . 

“ I longed  to  sit  with  Mary  at  the  Master's 
Feet,  and  lo  ! I am  compelled,  like  Martha,  to 
be  troubled  about  many  things.  I thought  the 
legion  of  devils  had  been  cast  out  of  me  and  I 
wished  to  rest  a while  near  Our  Lord  and  lo  ! 
I have  to  go  back  to  my  countrymen  and  tell 
them  how  great  things  the  Lord  hath  done  for 
me.  But  who,  amid  so  many  earthly  cares, 
can  declare  the  glorious  works  of  God  ? As  for 
me,  I find  it  difficult  even  to  think  of  them. 
There  are  indeed  men  who  can  so  control  their 
outward  prosperity  that  it  does  not  degrade 
them.  But  for  me  the  task  is  beyond  my 
strength,  for  what  the  mind  is  unwilling  to 
undertake  it  cannot  manage  well.  Behold,  our 
Most  Serene  Lord  has  ordered  an  ape  to  become 
a lion.  A lion  indeed  the  ape  may  be  called  at 
the  imperial  command,  but  a lion  he  cannot 
become." 


100  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


The  Pope-elect  attempted  flight.  But  the 
prefect  of  Rome  had  his  suspicions  and  set  a 
watch  on  all  the  city  gates.  Some  merchants, 
however,  were  prevailed  upon  to  bear  him  past 
the  guards,  hidden  away  among  their  bales  of 
cloth.  For  three  days  he  wandered  in  the  woods 
without  food,  and  in  danger  from  thieves  and 
Lombards.  Meanwhile  Rome  was  in  consterna- 
tion. The  churches  were  crowded  all  day,  a fast 
was  proclaimed,  and  messengers  scoured  the 
country  in  pursuit.  On  the  third  night,  a 
supernatural  radiance  betrayed  the  fugitive  in 
the  cavern  where  he  lay  hid.  He  was  led  back 
to  Rome  in  triumph,  and  the  joy  of  the  citizens 
knew  no  bounds. 

As  quickly  as  possible  he  was  ordained  priest 
and  consecrated  bishop.  On  the  3rd  of  Septem- 
ber, 590,  he  was  solemnly  enthroned  in  St. 
Peter's.  With  a heavy  heart  he  wrote  to  claim 
the  prayers  of  his  friends. 

" Worthless  and  w’eak,"  he  told  John  the 
Faster,  " I have  taken  charge  of  an  old  ship 
very  much  battered.  The  waters  break  in 
everywhere,  the  rotten  timbers  creak  daily  in 
the  storm.  For  God's  sake  give  me  by  your 
prayers  a helping  hand." 

He  elaborates  this  metaphor  of  a sinking  ship 
when  writing  to  St.  Leander. 

“ The  waves  break  against  the  prow,  clouds 


THE  PROCESSION 


IOI 


of  sea-foam  dash  over  the  curved  bulwarks  on 
the  sides,  a squall  bursts  upon  the  stern.  And 
I,  whom  God  has  placed  at  the  helm,  have  to 
tack  sideways,  lest  through  my  negligence  the 
leak  in  the  hold  increase.  Weeping  I look  back 
upon  the  peaceful  haven  I have  left  so  far  behind, 
and  I groan  in  spirit  as  I catch  glimpses  through 
the  haze  of  the  port  towards  which  I am  steering 
this  wind-buffeted,  crazy  old  boat.  O dearest 
brother,  if  you  love  me,  help  me  by  your 
prayers  to  battle  with  the  waves.  In  proportion 
as  you  help  my  endeavour,  may  you  yourself  be 
strengthened  in  your  own  work.” 

“ I complain,  and  not  lightly  of  your  love,” 
he  wrote  to  the  Consul  Gregory,  the  man  in 
Rome  who  had  been  most  active  in  procuring 
his  election.  " You  knew  I sought  seclusion, 
and  you  have  dragged  me  out  to  meet  trouble. 
God  reward  you  eternally  for  your  good 
intention,  and  may  it  be  His  good  pleasure  to 
deliver  me  from  the  dangers  into  which  you 
have  thrust  me  ! For  my  sins  I am  made  a 
bishop,  and  not  alone  of  the  Romans,  but  of 
the  Lombards  who  acknowledge  no  right  save 
the  sword,  and  whose  favours  are  torture.  See 
to  what  a pass  your  patronage  has  reduced  me!” 


CHAPTER  VII 


Pastoral  Rule. 

ELSEWHERE  in  his  letters  we  read  how 
Gregory  undertook  the  burden  of 
episcopacy  with  a sick  heart,  shackled 
with  the  chain  of  dignity,  choked  with  business, 
driven  distracted  with  the  tumult  of  worldly 
affairs,  the  eyes  of  his  soul  darkened  with  grief. 
“ The  base  height  of  external  eminence  ” is  for 
him  no  true  promotion,  since  it  draws  him  from 
the  Face  of  the  Lord  into  the  exile  of  earthly 
employment. 

He  was  especially  distressed  when  bishops 
wrote  to  congratulate  him  ; as  though  their 
own  experience  in  “ the  citadel  of  teaching  ” 
had  failed  to  convince  them  of  its  perils  and 
responsibility.  John,  Bishop  of  Ravenna,  wrote 
in  another  strain,  blaming  the  new  Pope  for  bis 
reluctance  to  dare  a duty  so  clearly  imposed 
upon  him  by  the  Will  of  God. 

Gregory  answered  John  by  his  book  On 
Pastoral  Rule , “ a golden  book,”  which  it  took 
him  four  years  to  write.  He  sent  copies  to  his 
friends  in  different  lands.  St.  Leander  circulated 
it  in  Spain.  The  emperor  Maurice  had  it 
translated  into  Greek.  St.  Augustine  carried  it 


PASTORAL  RULE 


103 


into  England.  Exactly  two  centuries  after  its 
first  appearance,  Alcuin  wrote  to  the  Arch- 
bishop of  York  : 

“ Wherever  you  go,  let  the  handbook  of  the 
holy  Gregory  go  with  you.  Read  it,  and  re-read 
it  often.  It  is  a mirror  of  the  pontifical  life  and 
a cure  for  every  wound  inflicted  by  diabolical 
deceit/' 

Alcuin's  pupil,  Charlemagne,  ranked  it  with 
the  Book  of  Canons  ; for  he  ordered  copies  of 
both  to  be  given  to  bishops  at  their  consecra- 
tion, and  a solemn  promise  to  be  exacted  that 
they  would  conform  their  conduct,  teaching  and 
decisions  to  its  maxims.  Alfred  the  Great 
translated  it  as  ‘'a  book  most  needful  for  men 
to  read,"  and  sent  a copy  of  his  version  to  every 
bishop  in  his  dominions.  It  is  the  book  of 
which  Ozanam  said,  “ It  made  the  bishops  who 
have  made  modern  nations."  A few  quotations, 
strung  together,  show  its  scope  more  interest- 
ingly than  a formal  synopsis. 

" The  solidity  of  inward  fear " is,  in  St. 
Gregory's  mind,  a bishop's  first  essential. 
“ Those  who  stumble  on  level  ground  should 
shrink  back  from  the  verge  of  a precipice. 
Arrogance  cannot  teach  humility,  nor  can  one 
who  lives  perversely  instruct  in  righteousness." 
True  humility,  on  the  other  hand,  “ is  averse 
from  stubbornness,  and  he  who  abounds  in  virtue 


104  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


accepts  the  supreme  rule  enjoined  him,  fleeing 
the  responsibility  in  his  heart,  and  against  his 
will  obeying/' 

A bishop's  life  must  serve  as  a pattern  for 
his  flock,  with  nothing  to  put  him  to  the  blush 
before  them.  He  must  be  pure  in  heart.  “ The 
hand  that  would  cleanse  from  dirt  must  needs 
itself  be  clean.  And  how  dare  he  plead  with 
God  for  others,  if  God's  anger  be  not  placated 
against  himself  ? " He  must  be  discreet  in 
silence,  profitable  in  speech.  “ For  careless, 
unseasonable  babbling  robs  good  advice  of  its 
effect,  and  unseasonable  silence  leaves  in  error 
men  who  might  have  been  instructed.  . . . 

“ He  must  be  all  in  all  to  his  flock,  joined  to 
the  highest  and  lowest  in  bonds  of  charity — a 
charity  so  well  ordered  as  to  keep  his  heart 
firmly  anchored  in  God,  even  when  he  leaves 
the  safe  haven  of  prayer  to  sympathise  with 
his  neighbours  in  their  infirmities.  All  men  are 
born  equal,  but  sin  has  sunk  some  below  the 
level  of  others.  These  he  must  discreetly 
correct,  with  a father's  loving  rigour  that  leaves 
no  sting  behind,  only  an  increase  of  reverential 
awe.  . . . 

“ It  behoves  a good  ruler  to  desire  to  please 
men,  and  by  sweetness  of  character  to  win  them 
to  love  truth.  For  it  is  hard  for  a preacher  who 
is  not  loved  to  be  heard  gladly,  however  wise 


PASTORAL  RULE 


105 


may  be  his  warnings.  Nor  is  a bishop  heard 
willingly,  if  he  reproves  the  misdeeds  of  trans- 
gressors and  makes  no  effort  to  supply  them 
with  the  necessaries  of  life.  The  word  of 
doctrine  maketh  no  way  into  the  soul  of  a man 
in  want  if  the  hand  of  mercy  commend  it  not 
to  his  mind.” 

And  lastly,  a bishop  must  meditate  daily  on 
Holy  Scripture,  so  that  “ he  who  is  drawn  to 
the  old  life  by  intercourse  with  worldlings  may 
be  continually  renewed  in  the  love  of  heavenly 
things  by  the  breathings  of  contrition.  For 
indeed  it  is  needful,  when  we  are  flattered  for 
the  abundance  of  our  virtues,  that  the  soul 
should  dwell  on  her  own  weak  points.  And 
thus  the  heart,  broken  by  the  remembrance  of 
faults  and  omissions,  may  shine  with  increased 
beauty  in  the  eyes  of  the  God  who  loveth  the 
lowly.  For  this  cause,  Almighty  God  is  wont 
to  leave  the  souls  of  rulers  imperfect  in  some 
small  measure,  that  the  while  they  shine  before 
men  with  wondrous  virtues  they  may  themselves 
be  wearied  with  their  own  irksome  imper- 
fections ; and  that,  whereas  they  still  toil  in 
their  strife  against  the  lower  difficulties,  they 
may  not  dare  to  vaunt  themselves  upon  their 
high  achievements.” 

On  this  note  of  humility  St.  Gregory  ends  : 
“ Behold  my  good  friend,  thou  whose  rebuke 


io6  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


has  constrained  me  to  write,  behold  this  portrait 
of  a fair  person,  which  I,  a foul  painter,  have 
presumed  to  paint.  I direct  others  to  the  shore 
of  perfection,  while  I myself  am  tossing  on  the 
waves  of  sin.  My  own  weight  drags  me  down- 
ward. But  do  thou  stretch  forth  the  hand  of 
thy  worthiness  and  hold  me  up  by  the  plank 
of  thy  prayer/1 

The  saint  did  not  live  otherwise  than  as  he 
wrote.  As  soon  as  he  became  Pope,  he  called 
to  his  side  from  St.  Andrew's  Maximianus  the 
abbot,  and  Marinianus,  Augustine  the  prior,  and 
Meletus,  the  two  first  in  training  for  the  sees 
of  Syracuse  and  Ravenna,  the  others  for  the 
English  apostolate.  With  these  and  others  of 
his  old  community  he  continued,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  monastic  routine : meals  in 
common,  set  times  for  prayer  and  study  and 
interchange  of  ideas.  He  admitted  also  to  his 
household  some  learned  and  holy  Roman  priests, 
on  whose  advice  and  intimacy  he  set  a high 
value.  Among  the  inferior  clerics  we  note 
Emilianus,  the  short-hand  writer,  who  took 
down  his  homilies  ; Claudius  the  scribe,  who 
preserved  his  writings  for  the  Church,  and 
Peter,  the  trusty  business  man  whom  he  has 
immortalized  in  his  Dialogues . All  the  domestics 
in  the  pontifical  palace  wore  the  tonsure,  and 
all  had  to  converse  in  cultured  Latin. 


PASTORAL  RULE 


107 


At  the  synod  held  in  595,  the  year  he 
published  his  book  On  Pastoral  Rule , St. 
Gregory  was  in  a position  to  insert  among  the 
decrees,  " Certain  persons  shall  be  selected  from 
among  the  clergy  or  the  monks  to  attend  upon 
the  Pontiff  in  his  bedchamber,  so  that  the  life 
of  the  ruler  may  be  witnessed  in  all  its  privacy 
by  men  who  can  take  example,  and  profit  by 
the  sight  of  his  progress  in  virtue.” 

Life  in  the  Lateran  palace  was  of  the  simplest. 
The  Pope's  liveries  were  monastic  in  cut  and 
texture.  His  own  robes  of  state  were  such  as 
he  deemed  suitable  to  a successor  of  the  Apostles. 
John  the  Deacon  tells  of  his  pallium,  woven  of 
white  wool  with  no  marks  of  the  needle  in  it, 
of  his  pectoral  of  thin  silver,  hung  from  the  neck 
by  a piece  of  poor  cloth,  of  his  narrow  belt  only 
a thumb’s-width  broad. 

" Although  we  do  not  care  for  presents,”  he 
once  wrote  to  a bishop,  ” we  have  thankfully 
received  the  costly  garments,  embroidered  with 
palm-branches,  vrhich  Your  Fraternity  has  sent 
us.  But  that  you  may  be  at  no  loss,  we  have 
sold  them  for  a fair  price,  which  we  forward  to 
Your  Fraternity.” 

Yet,  when  he  appeared  in  public,  there  was 
nothing  sordid  or  undignified,  nothing  to  excite 
remark  or  ridicule. 

" You  have  sent  me  one  sorry  horse  and  five 


io8  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


excellent  asses,”  he  wrote  to  the  agent  of  his 
estates  in  Sicily.  " The  horse  I cannot  ride, 
because  it  will  not  bear  my  weight ; and  the 
asses,  good  as  they  are,  I cannot  ride,  because 
they  are  asses.” 

He  kept  a frugal  table,  but  on  this  we  need 
not  dwell.  A man  of  his  gouty  habit  was,  of 
necessity,  abstemious.  The  thin,  sour  wine,  the 
usual  drink  of  monks  and  peasants,  was  in  his 
case  wholly  unsuited.  He  had  to  send  to 
Alexandria  for  a special  resinous  wine,  called 
cognidium,  and  this  was  to  him  no  small 
humiliation. 

But  however  simple  the  fare  provided,  his 
staff  of  cooks  and  scullions  were  kept  busy. 
For  St.  Gregory  entertained  twelve  poor  men 
to  dinner  every  day,  and  often  ate  with  them 
himself.  Moreover  he  never  sat  down  to  table 
without  sending  cartloads  of  cooked  provisions 
to  the  sick  and  infirm  throughout  the  streets 
and  lanes  of  all  the  city  districts.  Families 
reduced  in  circumstances  and  ashamed  to  beg, 
received  a dish  from  his  own  table,  delivered  at 
their  doors  ; and  he  wished  them  to  welcome  it 
more  as  a mark  of  honour  than  as  an  alms. 

“ An  offering  from  the  goods  of  Blessed  Peter 
the  Apostle,”  he  wrote,  " should  always  be 
received  as  a great  blessing.” 

And  again  : “ We  have  ordered  Adrian,  our 


PASTORAL  RULE 


109 


business  man,  to  pay  ten  solidi  a year  to  the 
monastery  you  have  built  in  Catania.  Do  not 
be  offended.  It  is  not  a personal  present  from 
me  to  you,  but  a gift  from  St.  Peter,  Prince  of 
the  Apostles.” 

He  answered  one  Julian  who  asked  for  help  : 
" I opened  your  letter  with  pleasure  and  I folded 
it  up  with  grief.  For  it  showed  me  that  you 
have  kept  hidden  from  me  something  I should 
long  ere  this  have  known.  You  must  have 
little  love  for  a man  with  whom  you  are  so 
bashful.  It  is  a great  help  to  me  when  you  give 
me  opportunities  to  do  a kindness.  Your 
bashfulness  is  all  the  more  blameworthy,  because 
you  know  I have  nothing  of  my  own.  I only 
administer,  as  bishop,  the  property  of  the  poor.” 

In  his  dealings  with  another  section  of  the 
poor  of  Christ,  St.  Gregory  deemed  it  a more 
blessed  thing  to  give  than  to  receive.  There 
were  three  thousand  “ handmaids  of  God”  in 
Rome,  to  whom  he  gave  eighty  pounds  a year 
and  fifteen  pounds  in  gold  to  buy  blankets. 
He  wrote  concerning  them  to  the  royal  lady 
Theoctista  : 

“ Their  life  is  so  noble,  so  given  to  tears  and 
abstinence,  that  I believe,  but  for  them,  not 
one  of  us  in  Rome  could  have  survived  so  many 
years  amid  the  swords  of  the  Lombards.” 

The  long  series  of  wars  had  left  the  Pope  the 


no  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


one  rich  man  in  Rome.  All  the  wealthy 
patrician  families  had  died  out,  or  removed  to 
Constantinople  or  sunk  to  poverty.  The  city 
was  crowded,  moreover,  with  refugees.  Even 
in  its  palmy  days  it  was  never  a trade  centre, 
and  had  no  staple  manufactures.  The  citizens 
looked  to  the  Government  for  bread  as  well  as 
for  games.  The  emperors  were  still  suppobed  to 
allot  corn  from  the  State  granaries  ; but  the 
Egyptian  tribute  had,  by  degrees,  been  diverted 
to  Constantinople,  and  the  imperial  officials  in 
Sicily  were  broken  reeds  to  lean  upon.  The 
Popes  had  to  shoulder  the  burden  themselves, 
or  see  the  people  perish  with  hunger. 

“ If  the  supply  from  Sicily  again  falls  short," 
St.  Gregory  warned  the  Praetor  of  that  island, 
“ it  will  be  the  death,  not  of  one  person  only, 
but  of  all  our  citizens/' 

And,  as  his  letter  produced  no  effect,  he  wrote 
to  the  manager  of  his  own  estates  there  : 
" With  fifty  pounds  of  gold,  buy  corn  and  store 
it  in  Sicily,  in  places  where  it  will  not  spoil,  so 
that  in  February  we  may  send  ships  across  to 
fetch  it.  But  in  case  we  fail  to  send  them, 
provide  the  ships  yourself,  and  with  God's  help 
send  us  the  corn  in  February." 

His  experience  as  prefect  of  the  city  and  as 
regionary  deacon  now  stood  St.  Gregory  in 
good  stead.  The  Popes,  his  predecessors,  had 


PASTORAL  RULE 


hi 


well  organised  the  distribution  of  relief.  Each 
charitable  institute  and  each  regionary  office 
had  to  keep  accounts  very  carefully.  Thus 
there  was  no  waste  or  overlapping,  when  on  the 
first  of  every  month  he  distributed  to  the  poor 
that  part  of  the  Church  revenue  which  was  paid 
in  kind. 

" Corn  throughout  the  year,  and  in  their 
several  seasons  wine,  cheese,  vegetables,  bacon, 
fish  and  oil  were  doled  out  most  discreetly  by 
this  father  of  Our  Lord's  household.  But 
pigments  and  other  more  delicate  articles  of 
commerce  he  offered  as  tokens  of  esteem  to 
citizens  of  rank." 

As  for  the  money-rents  of  his  estates  and  the 
patrimonies  of  the  Roman  Church,  these  he 
divided  among  the  different  charities  four  times 
a year  : at  Easter,  on  the  Feast  of  St.  Peter  in 
June,  on  the  anniversary  of  his  own  consecra- 
tion in  September,  and  on  St.  Andrew's  Day, 
the  patronal  feast  of  his  monastery.  In  this 
quarterly  distribution  he  was  mainly  guided  by 
the  register  of  Pope  Gelasius.  But  he  had  a 
register  of  his  own  compiled  as  well.  " On  it 
were  set  down  the  names  of  all  persons  of  either 
sex,  of  all  ages  and  professions,  both  in  Rome 
and  in  the  suburbs,  in  the  neighbouring  towns, 
and  even  in  the  distant  cities  on  the  coast, 
together  with  details  about  their  families,  their 


1 12  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


circumstances,  and  the  payments  which  they 
received.  When  a poor  man  was  found  dead 
of  starvation  in  one  of  the  back  streets  of  Rome, 
the  pope  abstained  from  saying  Mass.” 

With  so  much  misery  around  him  for  which 
to  cater,  St.  Gregory  had  no  funds  at  his 
disposal  to  lay  out  on  bricks  and  mortar.  He 
bad  done  his  church  building  when  Abbot  of 
St.  Andrew's.  His  only  architectural  venture 
as  Pope  was  the  hospice  for  pilgrims  at 
Jerusalem,  which  he  built  and  equipped,  and 
sent  out  Abbot  Probus  to  organize  on  the  lines 
of  the  hospices  which  other  Popes  had  founded 
in  Rome.  His  zeal  for  the  beauty  of  God's 
House  had  to  content  itself  with  the  care  he 
took  to  reduce  to  system  the  rites  of  public 
worship,  sifting  prudently  the  material  at  his 
disposal,  and  adding  of  his  own. 

This  remark  applies  equally  to  the  Sacra- 
mentary and  Antiphonary  which  bear  his  name, 
and  to  the  Schools  for  Choristers  which  he  set 
up  in  his  own  palace,  and  in  the  basement  of 
St.  Peter's. 

The  Roman  patricians  gladly  sent  their  sons 
to  these  schools,  but  the  best  of  the  pupils  were 
recruited  from  the  destitute  orphans  who,  as  the 
phrase  went,  depended  on  the  " fosterage  oi 
St.  Peter  ” for  their  chance  in  life.  St.  Gregory 
often  sought  relief  from  his  cares  and  bodily 


PASTORAL  RULE 


ii3 

pain  by  presiding  at  the  singing  lessons  in  the 
Lateran  palace.  For  centuries  the  very  couch 
was  shown  on  which  he  reclined,  and  the  rod 
with  which  he  beat  time  and  kept  the  unruly 
boys  in  order. 

Slowly  under  his  guidance  the  Gregorian 
Chant  w’as  evolved,  " full,  sonorous,  sweet, 
behooving/'  This  was  gradually  to  supersede 
all  over  the  West  the  elaborate  Ambrosian 
harmonies  which  had  so  charmed  and  alarmed 
St.  Austin  in  the  early  days  of  his  conversion 
at  Milan.  Pope  Leo  IV  wrote  in  850  to  rebuke 
an  abbot  slow  to  adopt  it,  and  therefore 
“ differing  not  only  from  the  Roman  See,  but 
from  almost  all  who  in  the  Latin  tongue  sing 
the  praises  of  the  Eternal  King."  About  the 
same  date  John  the  Deacon  wrote  amusingly  of 
“ the  light-minded  clowns  " in  the  Black  Forest 
who  could  not  readily  " accommodate  the 
thunder  of  their  voices  " to  the  sustained  sweet- 
ness and  modulation  of  the  Gregorian  Chant. 

" When  the  barbarous  roughness  of  bibulous 
throats  tries  to  produce  soft  singing  with 
inflexions  and  accents,  it  makes  their  voices 
grate  like  the  rumbling  of  waggons  coming  down 
hill.  Those  who  listen  are  not  soothed,  but 
exasperated  and  provoked  to  clamorous  inter- 
ruption." 

But  John  the  Deacon's  ear  and  taste  had  been 

H 


ii4  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


trained  at  the  Pope's  own  school  in  the  Lateran 
palace. 

According  to  the  letter  of  Leo  IV,  St.  Gregory 
had  congregational  singing  in  view  when  " he 
invented  plain  chant,  so  that  by  artificially 
modulated  sound  he  might  attract  to  Church 
services  not  only  the  clergy  but  also  the  un- 
cultured." Another  motive,  which  he  himself 
avows,  is  that  the  deacons  may  devote  them- 
selves to  their  proper  functions,  preaching  and 
the  distribution  of  alms,  instead  of  " spending 
over  much  time  on  the  modulation  of  their 
voice."  And  so  he  ordains  in  a synodal  decree 
(595)  : 

“ The  sacred  ministers  at  the  altar  shall  not 
sing  during  Mass.  The  deacons  may  read  the 
Gospel,  but  the  psalms  and  other  lessons  shall 
be  rendered  by  sub-deacons  and  those  in  Minor 
Orders."  He  will  have  at  the  altar  none  of 
“ those  careless  ministers  whose  singing  delights 
the  people,  but  whose  conduct  irritates  God." 

The  Antiphonary,  which  bears  his  name, 
contains  the  musical  portions  of  the  liturgy 
arranged  for  singing  by  alternate  choirs.  At 
least  eight  of  the  hymns  are  attributed  to 
St.  Gregory  himself,  including  the  two  still  in 
use  at  Sunday  Vespers,  Audi  Benigne  Conditor 
and  Lucis  Creator  Optime . 

St.  Gregory's  Antiphonary  was  mainly  com- 


PASTORAL  RULE 


ii5 

piled  by  him  from  material  which  existed  two 

hundred  and  seventy  years  before  his  time,  but 

which  he  reduced  to  system  and  rendered  easier 

to  sing.  His  Sacramentary,  on  the  other  hand, 

contains  much  that  was  afterwards  introduced 

into  the  liturgy,  the  Mass  for  his  own  feast,  for 

instance,  and  the  Blessing  of  Ashes  on  Ash 

Wednesday.  For  Lent  with  him  began  on 

Quadragesima  Sunday.  He  remarks  in  one  of 

his  homilies  how  its  thirty-six  fasting  days  form 

a tithe  of  the  vear. 

«/ 

Duchesne  defines  the  Sacramentary  as  “ The 
Pope’s  book,  containing  the  prayers  which  the 
Pope  has  to  use  at  the  ceremonies  over  which 
it  is  his  custom  to  preside,”  St.  Gregory  based 
his  Sacramentary  on  that  of  Pope  Gelasius, 
omitting  a good  deal,  and  adding  a little  of 
his  own.  In  the  Ordinary  of  the  Mass,  he 
formally  sanctioned  the  Kyrie , inserted  in  the 
Hanc  Igitur  the  words,  “ diesque  nostros  in  tua 
pace  disponas : atque  ab  aeterna  damnatione  nos 
eripi,  et  in  electorum  tuorum  jubeas  grege 
numerari,”  and  altered  the  position  of  the 
Pater  JSJoster , “ so  that  wc  may  say  over  His 
very  Body  and  Blood  the  prayer  which  our 
Redeemer  Himself  composed.”  He  forbade 
sub-deacons  to  wear  the  chasuble.  He  enjoined 
a more  frequent  use  of  Alleluia. 

St.  Gregory’s  Sacramentary  also  settled  a 


ii 6 ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


which  of  the  churches  within  and  without  the 
city  walls  the  Pope  v/as  to  celebrate  Mass  on 
the  chief  festivals  of  the  year,  on  the  Ember 
Days,  and  on  every  day  in  Lent.  For  he  had 
noticed  how  the  procession  on  St.  Mark's  Day 
had  impressed  the  people,  and  so  he  revived 
the  good  old  custom  of  the  Stations  which  had 
fallen  into  disuse  amid  the  troubles  of  the  times. 
At  a specified  church  the  Pope  was  met  by  the 
clergy  and  the  people,  and  they  all  went 
together — he  on  horseback,  they  on  foot — 
singing  and  praying  through  the  streets  to  the 
church  of  the  Station.  Here  he  was  received 
with  lights  and  incense  and  elaborate  ritual ; 
and  Mass  at  once  began,  during  which  he 
received  from  the  faithful  offerings  of  bread 
and  wine,  and  administered  Holy  Communion. 

A picture  in  St.  Peter’s  still  commemorates 
an  incident  at  one  of  these  Stations.  St. 
Gregory  noticed  a woman  of  senatorial  rank 
who  smiled  as  he  pronounced  over  her  the  usual 
formula  before  Holy  Communion  : " The  Body 
of  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  preserve  thy  soul.” 
Quickly  withdrawing  his  hand,  he  placed  the 
Sacred  Host  upon  the  altar,  and  called  upon  the 
matron,  before  all  the  people,  to  account  for 
her  unseemly  mirth. 

“ I smiled,”  she  replied,  " because  I knew  that 
I had  made  with  my  own  hands  this  morning 


PASTORAL  RULE 


117 


the  Bread  which  you  offered  me  as  the  Body  of 
Our  Lord.” 

Without  a word  St.  Gregory  knelt  before  the 
altar  and  bowed  his  head  in  prayer.  And  while 
he  prayed  and  the  people  prayed  with  him,  the 
Sacred  Host  appeared  as  Flesh  before  the  eyes 
of  the  whole  assembly.  " And  by  showing  It  to 
the  woman  he  recalled  her  to  the  grace  of  belief.” 

At  these  Stations  the  Pope  usually  preached, 
applying  the  Gospel  incidents  and  precepts  to 
the  ordinary  circumstances  of  a Christian  life. 
Allegorical  allusions  abound  in  these  sermons, 
according  with  the  taste  of  the  times,  and 
appealing  to  the  more  cultured  among  his 
hearers.  But  there  was  always  a fund  of  homely 
anecdote  as  well,  to  interest  the  unlearned, 
“ and  persuade  them  by  gentle  imitation  to 
mount  to  higher  things.” 

One  whole  section  of  his  book  on  Pastoral 
Rule  deals  with  the  difficulty  of  preaching  to  a 
mixed  audience  : 

“ For  a gentle  whistling  which  stilleth  horses, 
setteth  dogs  astir,  and  the  medicine  which 
abateth  one  disease  giveth  force  to  another, 
and  babes  are  killed  by  the  bread  which 
sustaineth  the  life  of  men.  . . . The  preacher 
has  to  teach  humility  to  the  proud  without 
increasing  the  terrors  of  the  timid,  to  exhort 
the  miserly  to  spend  without  encouraging  the 


n8  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


spendthrift  to  squander.  He  must  understand 
that  he  is  not  to  strain  the  mind  of  the  hearer 
beyond  its  strength,  lest  the  string  of  the  soul 
break  if  stretched  beyond  what  it  can  endure. 
All  deep  things  ought  to  be  covered  over  where 
there  are  many  hearers.  . . . The  Truth  by 
His  own  Mouth  commands  the  faithful  and 
wise  steward,  whom  the  Lord  setteth  over  His 
household  to  give  them  their  measure  of  corn 
in  season.” 

The  preacher  must,  like  St.  Paul,  be  all  things 
to  all  men,  a debtor  to  the  wise  and  to  the  unwise. 

“ The  wise,  for  the  most  part,  are  converted 
by  force  of  argument,  the  unwise  more  usually 
by  examples.  To  the  one  class,  doubtless,  it  is 
profitable  to  fall  beaten  in  their  own  disputa- 
tions. For  the  other  it  ofttimes  suffices  to  know 
the  praiseworthy  deeds  of  others.” 

Forty  of  St.  Gregory's  homilies  have  come 
down  to  us,  taken  down  in  shorthand  even  while 
he  spoke,  or  dictated  by  him  and  read  in  his 
presence  when  he  was  too  ill  to  preach.  All 
forty  were  carefully  revised  in  his  own  hand, 
and  an  authentic  transcript  deposited  in  the 
Roman  archives.  For  unauthorised  versions 
had  gone  abroad  among  the  Churches,  and  he 
would  not  hold  himself  responsible  for  the 
action  of  “ those  starving  men  who  will  not 
wait  until  their  food  be  cooked,”  but  took  down 


PASTORAL  RULE 


119 

his  sermons  hastily,  and  circulated  them  without 
his  leave  " to  be  eaten  half  raw.” 

This  was  in  the  year  593.  Towards  the  end 
of  his  life  he  revised  in  like  manner  his  twenty- 
two  discourses  on  the  Book  of  Ezechiel.  This 
series  was  preached  while  Agilulf,  King  of  the 
Lombards,  was  laying  waste  the  land  round 
Rome,  and  it  is  interesting  to  the  historian  from 
its  many  references  to  current  events.  We 
content  ourselves  with  one  short  quotation  : 

“ When  in  the  monastery  I wras  able  to  keep 
my  tongue  from  idle  talk  and  fix  my  mind  on 
prayer.  But  since  the  pastoral  burden  presses 
upon  the  shoulders  of  my  heart,  my  soul  lives 
abroad  amid  conflicting  cares  and  cannot  con- 
centrate upon  itself.  For  I have  to  superintend 
the  business  of  churches  and  of  monasteries,  and 
to  deliberate  upon  the  conduct  and  actions  of 
individuals.  Sometimes  I have  to  take  thought 
for  the  citizens,  sometimes  to  groan  over  the 
incursions  of  the  enemy,  sometimes  to  defend 
from  prowling  wolves  the  flock  committed  to 
my  care.  Sometimes  I have  to  keep  to  their 
duty  those  who  ought  to  assist  us,  sometimes  I 
must  suffer  plunderers  with  evenness  of  mind, 
sometimes  for  the  sake  of  charity  I must 
resist  them. 

“ How  then  can  I be  expected  to  prepare 
myself  for  preaching  with  the  reverent  com- 
posure that  befits  the  Word  of  God  ? ” 


CHAPTER  VIII 


WITH  THE  BISHOPS  OF  THE  WEST. 

SO  many-sided  were  St.  Gregory's  activities 
that  it  is  not  advisable  to  keep  to  the 
strict  order  of  time  when  writing  his 
life.  In  the  last  chapter  we  have  watched  him 
at  work  in  Rome,  a model  bishop  both  in  word 
and  deed.  In  this  one  our  purpose  is  to  show 
his  care  for  the  bishops  whom  he  describes  as 
“ belonging  to  us,"  and  his  dealings  with  the 
other  ecclesiastical  provinces  in  Western  Europe. 

Benedict  XIV,  our  great  authority  on  Canon- 
isation, has  a whole  treatise  on  the  duties  of  a 
Pope's  state  of  life.  “ The  Sovereign  Pontiff," 
he  says,  “ is  the  Shepherd  and  Ruler  of  the 
whole  Church.  He  is  besides,  Bishop  of  Rome, 
Metropolitan  of  the  Roman  Province,  Primate 
of  Italy  and  Patriarch  of  the  West." 

Like  the  other  patriarchs  he  has  the  right  to 
wear  and  to  confer  the  pallium.  It  is  outside 
the  scope  of  this  book  to  trace  the  vicissitudes 
in  the  history  of  this  web  of  white  wool  em- 
broidered with  dark  crosses,  which  from  early 
times  was  the  symbol  of  the  fulness  of  episcopal 
power.  In  the  sixth  century  its  use  was 


WITH  THE  BISHOPS 


121 


restricted,  in  the  West,  to  the  Sovereign  Pontiff 
and  to  those  bishops  who  were  immediately 
dependent  on  his  authority  : his  own  suffragans 
of  the  Roman  province,  for  instance,  the  other 
Italian  metropolitans,  the  Apostolic  Delegates 
in  other  lands  whom  he  appointed  his  i dears  to 
keep  him  in  touch  with  local  bishops.  Thus  in 
595  our  saint  granted  the  pallium  to  the  Bishop 
of  Arles,  empowering  him  as  “ Vicar  Apostolic  ” 
in  Austrasia,  Burgundy  and  Aquitaine,  to  settle 
minor  questions  by  his  own  authority,  and 
questions  of  greater  difficulty  in  a synod  of 
twelve  bishops.  Only  matters  of  supreme 
importance  were  to  be  referred  to  Rome. 

In  599  St.  Leander  of  Seville  received  his 
pallium,  “ only  to  be  worn  while  saying  Mass.” 
St.  Gregory  writes  on  this  occasion,  “ While 
sending  it  I ought  also  to  send  you  word  how 
you  should  live.  I do  not,  however,  for  your 
virtuous  life  has  anticipated  my  words.” 

The  Bishop  of  Cartagena  was  the  Pope's 
representative  in  the  part  of  Spain  not  subject  to 
the  Visigoths.  He  received  with  his  pallium  a 
copy  of  the  book  On  Pastoral  Rule , and  studied 
it  to  some  purpose. 

* ” Necessity  compels  us  to  do  what  you  say 
ought  not  to  be  done,”  he  wrote  in  return. 
“ You  say  that  the  uninstructed  must  not  be 
ordained.  But  let  Your  Prudence  consider 


122  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


whether  it  may  not  be  enough  to  know  Jesus 
Christ  and  Him  Crucified.  Otherwise  we  have 
no  one  here  duly  qualified  ; and  unless  the 
unlearned  (like  myself  !)  are  ordained,  there  will 
be  no  one  to  say  Mass  and  administer  the 
Sacraments/' 

The  humble  primate  was  indeed  no  match  in 
legal  acumen  for  the  insolent  and  avaricious 
governor  of  Roman  Spain,  “ the  glorious 
Commitiolus  ” who  contrived  to  have  two 
bishops  deposed  on  a charge  of  treasonable 
correspondence  with  the  enemies  of  the  State. 
St.  Gregory  sent  a special  envoy,  John  the 
Defensor,  with  powers  to  re-open  the  case  and 
with  very  definite  instructions  how  to  proceed. 
He  was  first  to  satisfy  himself  that  the  trial 
had  been  conducted  in  legal  form. 

“ Diligently  enquire  whether  the  accusers 
were  distinct  from  the  witnesses,  whether  the 
gravity  of  the  case  entailed  as  penalty  exile  or 
degradation,  whether  the  witnesses  were  on  oath 
and  gave  their  testimony  in  presence  of  the 
accused,  and  whether  the  accused  were  allowed 
to  answer  in  their  own  defence.  Examine 
thoroughly  into  the  antecedents  of  accusers  and 
witnesses,  whether  they  were  needy  men,  likely 
to  take  bribes,  whether  they  had  any  grudge 
against  the  accused,  whether  they  spoke  from 
their  own  knowledge,  or  whether  their  evidence 


WITH  THE  BISHOPS 


123 


was  mere  hearsay.  Make  certain  that  the 
judgment  was  in  writing,  and  delivered  in  open 
court/  * 

Enclosed  were  extracts  from  the  Justinian 
Code,  which  decreed  heavy  penalties  against 
any  magistrate  who  presumed  to  try  a bishop 
in  the  secular  courts  without  an  express  com- 
mand from  the  emperor. 

The  incident  illustrates  St.  Gregory's  care  to 
work  in  harmony  with  the  civil  power.  The 
North  of  Africa  was  again  under  imperial 
control,  and  here  he  was  far  more  hampered  by 
precedent  than  elsewhere  in  the  West.  The 
African  metropolitans  were  called  primates,  and 
save  in  the  province  of  Carthage  the  primacy 
was  not  attached  to  any  see,  but  went  by 
seniority  in  consecration.  Hence  it  often 
devolved  on  old  men,  who  had  outlived  their 
energy,  or  on  bishops  whose  dioceses  consisted 
of  a handful  of  unimportant  villages. 

St.  Gregory  did  not  deem  it  wise  to  insist  on 
any  change  of  system.  But  he  let  it  be  known 
that  he  reposed  great  confidence  in  Columbus, 
a Numidian  bishop,  " utterly  devoted  mind  and 
heart  and  soul  to  the  Apostolic  See."  He  wrote 
to  Adeodatus,  Primate  of  Numidia  : 

" The  life  and  conduct  of  Columbus  have 
been  so  approved  by  us  in  all  things,  that 
we  are  certain  anything  you  do  with  his 


124  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


approval  will  be  darkened  by  no  shadow  of  a 
fault/' 

In  Africa,  moreover,  he  had  Donatists  to  deal 
with,  and  the  Donatists  were  a power  in  politics 
by  reason  of  their  wealth.  And  alas  ! there 
were  bishops  to  be  found  who  stretched  forth 
to  these  schismatics  the  right  hand  of  fellowship. 
In  one  diocese  priests  of  this  sect  obtained  leave 
by  bribery  to  officiate  in  the  churches  ; and 
Catholics,  who  passed  for  pious,  took  money  for 
allowing  them  to  re-baptize  their  children  and 
their  slaves.  The  laws  of  the  Empire  forbade 
expressly  such  mischievous  propaganda  ; but 
the  prefects  and  the  proctors  turned  a deaf  ear 
to  the  Pope's  remonstrances.  Donatist  gold 
made  it  worth  their  while  to  be  lenient. 

St.  Gregory  would  never  promote  to  a 
primacy  any  bishop  who  had  once  been  a 
Donatist.  “ It  is  not  seemly,"  he  wrote,  “ that 
such  men  should  take  rank  above  other  bishops 
who  have  been  trained  from  infancy  in  the 
Catholic  Faith."  He  appealed  to  the  emperor 
“ to  cleanse  the  Church  in  Africa  from  the  venom 
of  diabolic  fraud,"  since  “ the  bribes  of  the 
heretics  so  prevail  in  the  province  that  the 
Catholic  Faith  is  publicly  put  up  for  sale." 

By  the  emperor's  command  a Council  met  at 
Carthage  in  594.  Here  it  was  ruled  that  bishops 
who  neglected  to  seek  out  and  punish  heretics 


WITH  THE  BISHOPS 


125 


should  be  deprived  of  their  sees.  St.  Gregory 
considered  the  decree  unjust. 

“ It  is  best,  dearest  Brother,”  he  wrote  to 
Dominic,  Primate  of  Carthage,  “ and  more 
becoming  to  your  position,  if  you  condescend 
sometimes  to  the  opinion  of  those  of  inferior 
dignity.  You  will  unite  the  Churches  more 
easily  to  resist  error,  when  in  a priestly  manner 
you  strive  to  preserve  ecclesiastical  concord.  . . . 
Just  as  we  defend  our  own  rights,  so  do  we 
preserve  those  of  the  other  Churches.  I do  not, 
through  partiality,  grant  to  any  Church  more 
than  it  deserves  ; nor  do  I,  through  ambition, 
refuse  to  any  one  of  them  what  belongs  to  it  of 
right.  Rather  do  I desire  to  honour  my  brother 
bishops  in  every  way,  and  study  that  each  may 
be  advanced  in  dignity,  so  long  as  there  can  be 
no  just  opposition  to  it  on  the  part  of  another.” 

We  shall  see  how  his  conduct  tallied  with 
his  teaching,  if  we  watch  him  at  work  in  Italy, 
where  the  Pope  himself  acted  as  metropolitan 
over  the  central  and  southern  sees.  The  bishops 
were  expected  to  visit  Rome  once  a year  to 
confer  with  him  personally  on  the  affairs  of 
their  dioceses.  Custom,  however,  allowed  three 
years  to  elapse  between  the  visits  ad  limina 
Apostolorum  of  the  Sicilian  bishops  ; and  St. 
Gregory  saw  fit  to  lengthen  this  interval  to  five 
years,  because  the  Government  officials  in  the 


126  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


island  made  difficulties  about  the  journey,  and 
because  there  were  risks  from  marauders  on 
the  road. 

But  he  kept  himself  accurately  informed  of 
everything  affecting  the  thirteen  Sicilian 
dioceses.  Of  these  Syracuse  was  the  most 
important,  for  that  city  was  the  headquarters 
of  the  imperial  governor.  At  the  head  of  this 
See  St.  Gregory  placed  Maximianus,  who  had 
been  at  one  time  his  own  religious  superior,  at 
another  a monk  under  his  obedience.  He  named 
Maximianus  his  Vicar*  in  the  island,  a personal 
mark  of  esteem,  he  notes,  and  not  in  virtue  of 
his  official  position.  The  Church  of  Syracuse 
was  not,  on  this  account,  to  claim  any  superiority 
over  the  rest  of  the  Sicilian  Churches. 

Maximianus  was  useful  to  the  Pope  in  many 
ways,  especially  in  his  dealings  with  the  Church 
in  Africa.  But,  like  other  monk-bishops  in  this 
pontificate,  he  had  sometimes  to  receive  firm 
letters  from  the  Pope,  who  had  been  a monk 
himself.  For  instance  : 

“ I have  often  rebuked  you  for  over-hasty 
judgments.  Yet  now  1 learn  that  in  a fit  of 
anger  you  have  excommunicated  the  most 


* Vicar  Apostolic  was  the  technical  term  denoting 
the  Pope’s  representative  in  a country  to  safeguard 
the  rights  and  fulness  of  authority  of  the  Holy  See. 


WITH  THE  BISHOPS 


127 


reverend  abbot  Eusebius.  It  surprises  me  that 
his  high  character,  his  great  age,  his  long 
sickness  could  not  stay  your  anger.  When 
God  scourges  a man  with  ill-health  there  is  no 
need  for  men  to  lay  on  stripes.  Let  this  excess 
make  you  more  cautious  in  trivial  cases,  so  that 
you  may  weigh  matters  well  before  passing 
judgment.  As  for  Eusebius,  console  him  by 
your  gentle  kindness  for  the  irritation  your 
anger  has  aroused/' 

Maximianus  obeyed,  but  Eusebius  refused  to 
forgive.  St.  Gregory  wrote  to  the  old  man, 
expressing  sorrow  for  the  harsh  treatment  meted 
out  to  him,  and  greater  sorrow  because  he  now 
put  himself  in  the  wrong. 

“ Those  who  stand  up  against  superiors  show 
that  they  despise  being  servants  of  God.  He 
ought,  by  no  means,  to  have  done  what  he  did  ; 
but  you  ought  to  have  borne  it  humbly.  And 
when  he  offered  you  goodwill  and  communion, 
you  should  have  been  reconciled  in  all  thank- 
fulness." 

When  he  needed  a Syracusan  priest  elsewhere, 
the  Pope  did  not  hesitate  to  appeal  to 
Maximianus. 

“ Felix,  a man  of  consular  rank  and  bearer 
of  this  letter,  says  there  is  in  your  district  a 
priest  worthy  to  be  made  a bishop.  Your 
Fraternity  will  call  him  before  you  and  diligently 


128  Sf.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


examine  him,  at  the  peril  of  your  own  soul. 
Send  him  to  us  if  you  find  him  worthy,  so  that 
by  God's  help  we  may  ordain  him  bishop  for  a 
place  which  we  have  provided." 

In  the  sixth  century  bishops  wTere  elected  by 
the  clergy,  the  nobles  and  the  people  of  their 
flock.  St.  Leo's  rule  still  held  good  : "He  that 
is  to  preside  over  all  ought  to  be  chosen  by  all." 
Only  very  urgent  reasons  could  induce  St. 
Gregory  to  interfere,  even  indirectly,  with  their 
choice.  He  usually  sent  a neighbouring  bishop 
as  visitor  to  the  bereaved  church.  On  one  such 
occasion  he  wrote  : 

"We  require  Your  Fraternity  zealously  to 
charge  the  clergy  and  the  people  to  lay  aside 
all  party  spirit,  and  to  choose  as  bishop  some 
one  worthy  of  the  office,  and  eligible  according 
to  Canon  Law.  And  when  he  is  elected  let 
him  come  to  us  for  consecration,  bringing  with 
him  his  papers,  made  out  in  due  form  and  signed 
by  the  electors,  and  an  attesting  letter  from 
Your  Charity.  . . . Take  care  that  no  layman 
presume  to  aspire  to  the  rank  of  bishop,  what- 
ever be  the  virtue  of  his  life.  Otherwise  you 
yourself  will  run  the  risk  of  being  degraded  from 
your  office.  The  which  God  forbid." 

The  metropolitan  had  the  right  of  veto.  In 
cases  where  electors  were  culpably  negligent 
St.  Gregory  did  not  hesitate  to  appoint,  on  his 


WITH  THE  BISHOPS 


129 


own  responsibility,  such  a bishop  as  he  knew 
would  be  acceptable  and  efficient. 

“We  do  not  approve  of  Occleatinus,"  he 
wrote  to  the  Church  of  Rimini/'  and  the  people 
must  not  think  of  him  any  more.  If  they  cannot 
find  any  one  in  this  Church  who  is  fit  for  the 
office,  the  bearer  of  this  letter  will  suggest  a 
candidate.  He  has  my  instructions." 

No  fault  in  any  of  his  suffragans  escaped  his 
watchful  eye.  He  wrote  to  the  Bishop  of 
Reggio  : 

“ Visitors  to  Rome,  my  brother,  have  told 
me  that  you  are  very  earnest  in  your  works  of 
mercy,  and  I thank  God  for  it.  But  it  troubles 
me  not  a little  to  hear  that  you  yourself  have 
mentioned  your  good  deeds  to  so  many  people. 
My  dear  brother,  when  your  actions  are  so  good, 
you  should  guard  with  jealous  care  the  goodness 
of  your  heart,  lest  the  desire  of  pleasing  men 
creep  in  and  all  your  labour  in  well-doing  avail 
you  nought." 

A bishop  in  Apulia  is  blamed  for  the  vagaries 
of  an  “ escaped  nun." 

“ To  your  great  disgrace,  the  daughter  of 
Tullianus,  of  honoured  memory,  has  thrown  off 
her  monastic  habit  and  written  us  a perverse 
letter.  If  you  knew  how  to  act  as  a bishop, 
we  should  have  heard  of  that  wicked  woman's 
punishment  before  we  heard  of  her  crime.  But 


130  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


you  are  so  slothful,  that  unless  you  yourself 
suffer  canonical  correction  you  know  not  how 
to  maintain  discipline.  We  will,  please  God, 
instruct  you  effectively  on  some  fitting 
occasion.” 

Negligence  in  almsgiving  is  dealt  with  no  less 
severely.  The  Bishop  of  Naples  received  an 
order  to  distribute  four  hundred  gold  pieces 
among  priests,  beggars  and  deserving  poor,  in 
the  presence  of  the  Pope’s  delegate,  Anthemius. 
A little  later,  Anthemius  has  to  rebuke  the 
bishop,  in  front  of  the  clergy  and  the  notables 
of  his  diocese,  and  if  this  strong  measure  does 
not  restrain  him  from  his  customary  faults,  he 
is  to  be  sent,  under  escort,  to  Rome,  “ to  learn 
there  what  a bishop  ought  to  do  and  how  to 
do  it.” 

For  strange  tales  reached  the  Pope  about 
Bishop  Paschasius.  " He  bestows  no  love  nor 
care  on  his  church  or  on  the  monks  in  his 
diocese,  or  on  the  poor.  He  gives  no  help  to 
the  oppressed  who  seek  redress  at  his  hands. 
Worse  still,  he  utterly  refuses  to  take  advice 
from  prudent  men.  All  his  time  goes  in  ship- 
building, which  has  already  cost  him  over  four 
hundred  pounds.  He  goes  daily  down  to  the 
shore  with  two  or  three  clerics,  in  so  mean  a 
guise  that  he  has  become  a laughing-stock  to 
his  own  people,  and  strangers  despise  him  as 


WITH  THE  BISHOPS 


131 

lacking  in  the  dignity  which  befits  a bishop. 
This  state  of  things,  you  know,  is  not  without 
your  fault,  for  you  have  delayed  to  rebuke  and 
restrain  him,  as  it  was  your  duty  to  do.” 

Picenius  of  Amalfi  was  fond  of  gadding 
abroad.  His  people  followed  the  bad  example 
set  by  their  chief,  and  left  their  homes  at  the 
mercy  of  the  Lombards. 

“ See  that  he  resides  in  his  diocese  as  becomes 
a bishop,”  wrote  Gregory  to  Anthemius.  “ If, 
when  you  have  threatened  him,  he  does  not 
amend,  send  him  at  once  to  a monastery,  and 
write  to  us  for  further  orders.” 

Bishops  might  not  leave  their  flock  for  any 
length  of  time  without  the  consent  of  their 
immediate  superior.  Picenius  was  not  the  only 
one  to  ignore  this  rule.  And  thus  we  find  St. 
Gregory  writing  to  Syagrius,  Bishop  of  Autun  : 

“ Menas,  a bishop  of  the  Roman  Church,  has 
fled  from  our  jurisdiction  to  your  city.  He  has 
shown  such  lightness  in  his  conduct  that  the 
name  of  bishop  is  to  him  not  an  honour  but  a 
burden.  We  count  it  shame  to  hear  things  of 
him  which  we  severely  reprehend  in  priests  of 
other  provinces.  Your  Fraternity  will  compel 
him  to  return  to  us  as  soon  as  possible.  More- 
over, report  reaches  us  that  one  Theodore,  a 
suffragan  of  our  most  reverend  brother 
Constantius,  of  the  Church  of  Milan,  has  settled 


132 


ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


in  your  city,  so  as  to  avoid  his  correction.  We 
request  Your  Fraternit}'  diligently  to  seek  him 
out  and  send  him  back  to  his  diocese/' 

Very  intimate  indeed  was  the  connection 
between  the  Pope  and  the  other  metropolitans 
of  Italy  : the  Archbishops  of  Ravenna,  of  Milan, 
of  Aquileia,  of  Cagliari  and  of  Salona.  The 
term  archbishop  was  not  then  used  in  the  West, 
but  we  risk  the  anachronism  for  the  sake  of 
clearness. 

St.  Gregory  begs  John  of  Ravenna  to  help 
him  to  administer  his  own  province  in  places 
where  the  Lombards  made  travelling  difficult 
and  dangerous. 

“ Your  Fraternity  will  take  charge  of  any 
bishops  of  ours  who  are  hindered  from  coming 
here.  But  I would  not  have  them  harassed  or 
fatigued  unduly,  so  they  must  not  be  summoned 
to  Ravenna  for  their  causes.  Admonish  them 
by  letter,  if  you  find  them  blameworthy. 
Serious  faults  among  them  we  wish  you  to 
report  accurately  to  us,  so  that  your  testimony 
may  strengthen  our  decision  when,  after  due 
deliberation,  we  pass  judgment,  with  the  help 
of  God,  and  in  conformity  with  Canon  Law.” 

In  another  letter  he  takes  John  himself  to 
task.  “ It  grieves  me  that  Your  Fraternity 
writes  to  me  in  flattering  terms,  and  you  speak 
quite  otherwise  about  me.  It  grieves  me  too 


WITH  THE  BISHOPS 


133 


to  learn  that  my  brother  John  has  often  on 
his  lips  those  jokes  which  the  sons  of  notaries 
delight  in,  that  he  speaks  stinging  words  as  if 
he  enjoyed  their  wit.  I execrate  his  masterful 
tone  to  his  clergy,  and  the  humiliating  services 
he  exacts  from  those  of  his  household/' 

The  last  of  John’s  transgressions  he  considers 
" first  indeed  by  the  gravity  of  its  pride.  . . . 
None  of  his  predecessors  ever  presumed  to  wear 
the  pallium  outside  the  Church.  Our  legates 
tell  me  that  he  himself  never  presumed  to  do 
so  in  the  time  of  our  predecessors.  But  now 
he  does  it  frequently  to  show  his  contempt  for 
me.  ...  I give  thanks  to  God  that,  when  I 
heard  of  this,  the  Lombards  were  between  me 
and  the  city  of  Ravenna.  Otherwise  I might 
have  shown  to  men  how  severe  I know  I can  be.” 

The  letter  ends  in  gentler  strain.  " Believe 
me,  when  I was  exalted  to  my  present  position 
I was  full  of  good  will  for  Your  Fraternity  and 
held  you  in  high  esteem.  Had  you  wished  it, 
you  would  have  found  in  me  a brother  eager  to 
forestall  you  in  marks  of  affection.  But  knowing 
how  you  talked  and  how  you  acted  I had  to 
hold  back.  Now  I beseech  you  to  amend  all 
the  things  I have  mentioned.  Especially  do  I 
implore  you,  to  be  wholly  sincere  with  your 
brethren,  say  not  one  thing  and  have  another 
in  your  heart.  Allow  me  to  be  your  friend. 


134  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Yon  will  find  my  brotherly  affection  useful 
for  you,  both  in  this  life  and  in  the  life  to 
come/' 

The  archbishops  of  Ravenna  attended  the 
Roman  synods  every  year,  and  it  was  one  of 
their  privileges  to  receive  consecration  at  the 
hands  of  the  Pope  himself.  On  the  death  of 
John  in  595,  St.  Gregory  wrote  : 

" We  were  anxious  to  comply  with  the  wishes 
of  His  Excellency  the  Patrician  in  favour  of 
Donatus  the  Archdeacon.  But  since  it  is  very 
perilous  to  the  soul  to  ordain  without  careful 
consideration,  we  made  it  our  business  to 
investigate  thoroughly  his  life  and  character. 
And  as  we  found  much  which  disqualifies  him, 
we  had  to  notify  the  Patrician  that  we  could 
not  consent  to  his  consecration.  Nor  did  we 
venture  to  ordain  the  priest  John.  He  did  not 
know  the  psalms  : this  shows  that  he  is  wanting 
in  zeal  to  improve  himself.  The  delegates  from 
Ravenna  confessed  they  could  find  in  their  own 
Church  no  one  fit  for  the  office,  wdiereat  they  and 
I were  greatly  grieved.  At  last,  with  united 
voices,  they  petitioned  me  earnestly  for  my 
venerable  brother,  the  priest  Marinianus,  who 
lived  for  long  years  with  me  in  my  monastery. 
He  tried  various  means  to  escape  the  dignity, 
but  in  the  end  they  prevailed  upon  him  to 
accept.  As  we  know  him  well  and  have  found 


WITH  THE  BISHOPS 


135 


him  zealous  for  winning  souls,  we  ordained  him 
without  delay.” 

At  first  Marinianus  bade  fair  to  be  the  square 
man  in  the  round  hole.  A twelvemonth  after 
his  consecration,  St.  Gregory  wrote  to  the  Abbot 
Secundus : 

“ Talk  to  my  brother  and  fellow-bishop, 
Marinianus,  and  stir  him  up,  for  I suspect  he 
has  gone  to  sleep.  I was  speaking  the  other  day 
with  some  poor  pilgrims,  questioning  them  on 
their  journey  and  on  alms  which  had  helped 
them  on  their  way.  I anxiously  inquired  how 
much  they  had  received  from  Marinianus,  and 
they  made  answer,  * He  told  us  “I  have 
nothing  for  you  ! ” ' I am  indeed  surprised 
that  a man  who  has  clothes,  who  has  silver, 
who  has  food,  finds  nothing  to  give  the  poor  ! 
Now  that  he  is  a bishop  he  must  alter  his  ideas. 
He  has  other  duties  besides  study  and  prayer. 
He  must  not  fancy  that  he  is  free  to  sit  by 
himself  all  day,  with  his  hands  joined.  He  must 
help  those  in  want,  he  must  feel  for  the  distress 
of  others,  if  he  does  not,  he  is  no  true  bishop. 
I have  written  to  him  for  the  good  of  his  soul  ; 
but  I suppose  he  has  not  troubled  even  to  read 
my  letter,  for  he  has  answered  me  never  a word. 
So  now,  when  I write  to  him,  it  is  merely  on 
matters  of  business  : I refrain  from  advice,  I 
am  not  bound  to  weary  myself  dictating  a letter 


136  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


to  a man  who  will  not  read  it.  So  I beg  Your 
Affection  to  talk  with  him  privately  and 
admonish  him  how  to  act,  lest  (which  God 
forbid  !)  he  lose  by  his  negligence  the  life  he 
once  possessed." 

Secundus  must  have  talked  to  some  purpose, 
for  soon  the  monks  of  the  district  lodged 
a complaint  at  Rome  that  they  were  over- 
burdened with  parish  work,  and  blamed  unfairly 
when  things  went  wrong.  This  time  the  monk- 
Pope  wrote  himself  directly  to  the  monk-bishop 
and  in  terms  of  sharp  rebuke  : 

“ Do  not  delay  to  correct  these  abuses,  now 
that  you  are  warned  for  the  second  time.  If 
we  find  you  still  negligent  (we  do  not  think  it 
will  be  the  case),  we  shall  be  compelled  to 
provide  for  the  peace  of  the  monasteries  in 
another  way.  We  will  not  allow  God's  servants 
to  be  thus  oppressed." 

When  a vacancy  occurred  at  Milan,  St. 
Gregory  wrote  to  the  clergy  : " Long  ago  I 

resolved  never  to  interfere  in  the  interests  of 
any  candidate.  But  I shall  follow  your  election 
with  my  prayers,  that  God  may  grant  you  a 
pastor  who  by  word  and  example  will  guide 
you  on  the  road  which  leads  to  life." 

But  however  sure  he  is  that  "The  Divine 
Shepherd  provides  such  shepherds  as  the  flock 
deserves,"  he  would  have  the  electors  weigh 


WITH  THE  BISHOPS 


137 


well  the  qualifications  of  their  future  bishop, 
“ For  when  he  is  once  set  over  you,  he  can  no 
longer  be  judged  by  you  ; therefore  you  should 
examine  him  thoroughly  now.  Once  your  pastor 
is  consecrated,  give  yourselves  to  him  heart  and 
soul,  and  in  his  person  serve  Almighty  God.” 

The  Milanese  clergy  elected  Constantius,  a 
personal  friend  of  St.  Gregory,  who  at  once 
issued  orders  “ to  have  him  consecrated  by  his 
suffragans,  as  ancient  use  demands,  with  the 
assent  of  our  authority  and  with  the  help  of  God. 
Thus  will  the  Apostolic  See  uphold  its  own  rights 
and  preserve  intact  the  rights  which  it  has 
conceded  to  others.” 

It  fell  to  his  duty,  as  primate  of  Italy,  to 
rebuke  Natalis,  Archbishop  of  Salona,  which 
was  the  metropolitan  See  for  the  eastern  shores 
of  the  Adriatic. 

" Many  people  who  have  come  from  your 
city,  my  dearest  brother,  say  that  you  neglect 
your  pastoral  charge,  that  you  give  yourself 
up  to  feasting  and  do  not  preserve  your  self- 
respect.” 

Natalis  in  his  reply  quoted  the  case  of 
Abraham,  who  entertained  angels  unawares. 

“ We  should  not  blame  Your  Holiness  for  the 
feast,”  wrote  Gregory  in  return,  " if  we  thought 
you  had  always  angels  for  your  guests.  Your 
Holiness  does  well  to  praise  banquets  where 


138  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


charity  abounds.  Those  feasts  truly  proceed 
from  charity  when  the  life  of  the  absent  is  not 
picked  to  pieces,  where  no  one  is  mocked,  where 
there  is  no  idle  gossip  on  frivolous  topics,  where 
a holy  book  is  read  aloud,  where  no  more  is  eaten 
or  drunk  than  is  needed  to  refresh  the  body  and 
keep  it  in  health  for  the  practice  of  virtue/' 

Before  and  after  he  became  Pope,  St.  Gregory 
had  intervened  to  compel  Natalis  to  stay 
proceedings  against  Honoratus,  his  archdeacon. 

" I believe  you  were  angered  against  him,  only 
because  he  hindered  you  from  giving  away  to 
your  kinsfolk  the  sacred  vessels  and  ornaments 
of  the  sanctuary.  And  now  I hear  you  strive 
speciously  to  degrade  Honarius  while  seeming 
to  promote  him  to  higher  dignity.  Thus  you 
are  able  to  put  in  his  place  as  archdeacon  one 
who  would  connive  at  your  malpractices.  . . . 
Let  Your  Fraternity  come  to  a right  frame  of 
mind  and  restore  Honoratus  to  his  former 
position  as  soon  as  you  receive  this  letter. 
If  you  delay,  we  take  from  you  the  pallium,  a 
privilege  depending  on  the  Apostolic  See.  If, 
after  losing  the  pallium,  you  still  persist  in  your 
pertinacity,  we  deprive  you  of  participation  in 
the  Body  and  Blood  of  Our  Lord.  After  this 
we  shall  have  to  scrutinize  minutely  whether 
you  ought  to  be  degraded  from  your  rank  as 
bishop.  ...  Do  not,  dearest  brother,  provoke 


WITH  THE  BISHOPS 


139 


us  any  further,  lest  you  feel  our  severity  very 
hard  to  endure.” 

Later  he  was  able  to  wrrite  to  John  of  Ravenna. 
“ I was  much  grieved  about  our  brother  and 
fellow -bishop,  Natalis,  because  I saw  much 
pride  in  him.  But  since  he  has  reformed  his 
conduct,  he  has  comforted  my  sorrow  and  won 
back  my  love.” 

Great  delicacy  was  needed  in  dealing  with  the 
Church  in  Sardinia.  St.  Gregory  sent  a circular 
to  the  bishops  there  : 

“ Followr  the  ancient  custom  of  your  Churches 
in  seeking  permission  from  your  metropolitan, 
according  to  our  fixed  rule,  whenever  necessity 
compels  any  one  of  you  to  leave  your  diocese. 
Do  not  presume  to  slight  him  by  ignoring  his 
authority,  unless  (which  we  do  not  expect)  you 
have  a cause  against  him  to  be  judged  by  the 
Apostolic  See.” 

The  metropolitan  in  the  island  was  Januarius, 
Archbishop  of  Cagliari,  a very  old  man  whose 
eccentricities  gave  great  scandal.  In  592  the 
appeals  against  him  had  grown  so  numerous 
that  a commissioner  came  from  Rome  to  inves- 
tigate his  disregard  of  justice.  And  St.  Gregory 
wrote  privately  to  caution  Januarius  : " If 

you  find  that  you  have  taken  anything,  or  hold 
anything  unjustly,  restore  it  before  the  trial 
begins.” 


140  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


A few  years  later  he  has  to  administer  a 
sharp  rebuke : “ Such  wickedness  has  been 

reported  to  us  that  unless  we  took  a merciful 
view  of  it,  we  should  smite  you  with  a public 
anathema.  We  have  heard  that  on  the  Lord’s 
Day,  before  saying  Mass,  you  went  and  ploughed 
your  neighbour’s  corn-field,  and  that  after  Mass 
you  dared  to  remove  his  boundary  stones.  We 
did  not  believe  you  could  have  been  so  wicked, 
until  we  questioned  our  son,  Abbot  Cyriacus, 
who  was  at  Cagliari  at  the  time  this  happened. 
Since  we  still  wish  to  spare  your  grey  hairs,  be 
wise  at  last,  old  man,  and  restrain  your 
scandalous  levity  and  wickedness.  The  nearer 
you  are  to  death,  the  more  circumspect  and 
afraid  of  sin  you  ought  to  be.  Your  punishment 
is  already  decreed,  but  we  know  your  simplicity 
in  your  old  age,  and  so,  for  the  time  being,  we 
keep  it  back.  But  we  excommunicate  for  the 
space  of  two  months  all  those  who  have 
counselled  you  amiss,  permitting  them,  how- 
ever, to  receive  Holy  Viaticum,  should  any 
mortal  chance  befall  them  during  that  space  of 
time.  But  do  you  henceforth  be  wary  and  hold 
aloof  from  their  advice.  And  look  well  to 
yourself,  for  if  you  learn  evil  from  those  to 
whom  you  ought  to  teach  good,  we  shall  spare 
you  no  longer.” 

“ I chide  and  rebuke  you,”  he  wrote  a month 


WITH  THE  BISHOPS 


141 

later,  " not  out  of  harshness  but  out  of  brotherly 
love,  because  I wish  Almighty  God  to  see  in 
you  a bishop,  not  in  name  only  which  brings 
punishment,  but  in  merit  which  brings  reward.” 

A long  series  of  letters  deals  in  detail  with 
the  Churches  of  Sardinia,  for  the  Pope  had 
practically  to  act  as  their  metropolitan.  In  the 
course  of  nature  the  archbishop’s  death  seemed 
always  near  at  hand,  yet  apparently  he  outlived 
St.  Gregory,  for  one  of  our  saint’s  last  letters 
refers  to  him  again. 

“ You  tell  us  that  our  brother  and  fellow- 
bishop,  Januarius,  has  often  to  interrupt  his 
Mass  and  can  scarcely,  after  long  intervals, 
resume  it  again  at  the  place  where  he  broke 
off ; and  you  say  that  many  are  in  doubt 
whether  they  ought  to  receive  Communion, 
when  he  has  consecrated.  Tell  them  to  have  no 
fear.  The  sickness  of  the  celebrant  does  not 
affect  the  blessing  of  the  sacred  mystery.  Still 
our  brother  ought  certainly  to  be  advised,  in 
private,  not  to  say  Mass  when  he  feels  one  of 
his  attacks  coming  on,  lest  he  expose  himself 
to  contempt,  and  cause  offence  in  weak  minds.” 


CHAPTER  IX 


TAMING  THE  TEUTONS. 

AT  any  rate  the  senility  of  Januarius 
brought  St.  Gregory  into  closer  touch 
with  the  Churches  of  Sardinia,  and  the 
many  letters  he  had  to  write  in  connection  with 
that  island  give  us  a glimpse  of  the  confusion 
that  everywhere  prevailed. 

Be  it  well  understood  all  the  West  was  in 
chaos.  Whole  districts  were  now  desolate 
deserts,  with  ruined  masonry  to  mark  the  site 
of  villages  and  towns.  Everywhere  the  centres 
of  population  had  shifted.  Roman  Law  gave 
place  to  feudal  custom.  Arian  heretics  held  the 
ear  of  kings. 

Everything  was  to  reorganise,  and  the  Pope 
had  to  see  to  everything  in  person.  Unlike  our 
present  Holy  Father,  he  had  not  at  his  disposal 
the  elaborate  machinery  of  the  Roman  Curia 
and  Sacred  Congregations.  And  the  old  order 
was  giving  place  to  new  so  quickly  that 
precedents  could  only  hamper. 

The  Visigoths  were  masters  in  Spain,  the 
Franks  in  Gaul.  Justinian's  generals  bad  won 
back  the  African  Province  from  the  Vandals. 


TAMING  THE  TEUTONS 


143 


These  regions,  at  any  rate,  had  their  fate 
decided.  But  in  Italy  the  war  still  raged. 

St.  Gregory  was  a young  man  of  twenty-eight 
when  “ the  unspeakable  Lombards  ” swarmed 
through  the  passes  of  the  Julian  Alps — wild- 
looking, shaggy-bearded  men,  with  the  backs 
of  their  heads  carefully  shaved,  “ savage  beyond 
even  German  fierceness.”  There  was  no  one 
competent  to  oppose  them  in  568.  Belisarius 
was  dead,  Narses  in  disgrace,  Longinus  the  ex- 
arch skulked  behind  the  ramparts  of  Ravenna, 
and  made  no  attempt  to  conscript  the  manhood 
of  Italy  in  defence  of  hearths  and  shrines. 

Town  after  town  opened  its  gates  without  a 
blow ; and  Alboin,  the  Lombard  King,  gave 
each  town,  os  it  surrendered,  to  one  or  other 
of  his  captains  with  the  title  of  Duke.  Pavia 
alone  held  out  for  three  years.  Here  Alboin 
established  his  capital,  and  here  he  was 
murdered  in  574,  about  the  time  when  St. 
Gregory  became  a monk. 

The  wretched  Italians  in  the  conquered 
districts  were  now  serfs  bound  to  the  soil, 
compelled  to  work  day  and  night  to  secure  a 
scanty  livelihood  ; for  they  were  forced  to  yield 
up  to  their  cruel  taskmasters  one-third  of  the 
produce  of  their  labour.  And  no  man  was  safe 
in  life,  or  limb,  or  chattel,  from  the  local  despot’s 
whim. 


144  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Lombard  Italy  was  divided  up  among  thirty- 
six  dukes,  each  irresponsible  in  his  own  strip  of 
territory,  each  eying  each  askance,  ready  to 
quarrel  with  his  fellow  on  the  smallest  provoca- 
tion. Had  the  thirty-six  confederated  they  could 
easily  have  subdued  the  whole  of  the  peninsula. 

Through  ten  most  wretched  years  the  Lombard 
warriors  remained  on  the  alert,  in  peril  from 
the  Franks  and  Allemanni  in  the  emperor’s 
pay — hardly  in  peril  from  the  Hungarians  and 
Avars  so  strong  were  their  own  precautions  in 
the  Eastern  Alps — in  peril,  lest  imperial  Ravenna 
should  shake  off  its  lethargy  and  the  much- 
enduring  peasantry  rise  in  revolt. 

The  two  southernmost  of  the  Lombard 
duchies,  Benevent  and  Spoleto,  proved  especially 
troublesome  to  Rome.  We  have  already  spoken 
of  their  raids  on  the  Campagna  and  their  attacks 
on  the  city.  Furthermore,  the  Via  Flaminia 
between  Rome  and  Ravenna  ran  through  the 
territory  of  the  Duke  of  Spoleto  ; and  the  Duke 
of  Benevent  could  at  any  time  swoop  down  on 
the  Appian  Way  and  cut  communications  with 
the  Adriatic. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  while  St.  Gregory 
was  at  Constantinople  the  emperor  advised  the 
Romans  to  hire  the  help  of  the  Franks.  King 
Childebert,  nothing  loth,  marched  his  troops  into 
Italy.  It  seemed  that  if  he  and  the  Viceroy 


TAMING  THE  TEUTONS 


145 


could  concert  their  manoeuvres,  the  Lombards 
would  be  surrounded  and  driven  from  the  land. 
The  common  danger  brought  the  thirty-six 
dukes  together  in  council,  and  they  agreed  to 
take  their  orders  from  Authari,  the  young  king 
whose  claim  to  fealty  and  to  tribute  thay  had 
for  years  ignored. 

Authari  decided  on  a policy  of  passive 
resistance.  He  collected  provisions  and  shut 
himself  up  with  his  fighting  men  in  Pavia. 
The  dukes  followed  his  example,  each  in  his 
own  strongest  tow'n.  The  peasants  were  left  to 
starve  in  the  open,  and  the  Franks  could  find 
neither  food  nor  provender  to  commandeer,  no 
foe  to  meet  in  fair  encounter.  Pestilence 
followed  in  the  wake  of  famine,  and  a little 
before  Pope  Pelagius  died  Childebert  led  back 
to  Gaul  the  gaunt  remnant  of  his  troops. 

The  Lombard  power  was  still  unbroken. 
Never  had  their  outlook  seemed  more  hopeful, 
for  a strong  hand  held  the  dukes  in  control. 
It  was  now  the  emperor's  troops  who  kept  in 
garrison,  while  the  armies  of  King  Authari 
raided  the  land.  A column  still  marks  the  spot 
where  his  javelin  fell  when,  so  runs  the  story, 
he  rode  into  the  sea  at  the  southernmost  point 
of  Italy,  and  hurled  it  with  all  his  strength, 
exclaiming  : “ Thus  far  extends  the  limit  of 
the  Lombard  rule."  But  the  imperial  fleet  was 


i46  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


still  supreme  at  sea,  the  imperial  garrisons 
secure  in  their  strongholds  along  the  coast. 

Authari  was  now  in  the  zenith  of  his  power. 
At  Easter,  590,  that  very  Easter  when  St. 
Gregory  massed  the  Romans  in  penitential 
procession,  he  forbade  the  children  of  the 
Lombards  to  be  baptised  in  the  Catholic  Faith. 

" For  this  crime,”  writes  St.  Gregory,  " the 
Divine  Majesty  extinguished  him,  so  that  he 
did  not  see  another  Easter.” 

His  death  occurred  at  Pavia  on  the  5th  of 
September,  two  days  before  the  new  Pope  was 
enthroned. 

Authari  left  no  son,  only  a fair  young  widow, 
Theodolind,  daughter  of  Duke  Garibald  of 
Bavaria,  a Catholic  princess,  as  good  and  as 
gracious  as  she  was  comely.  The  Lombards 
decided  that  she  should  remain  their  queen. 
The  thirty-six  dukes  voted  that  the  royal  crown 
should  be  given  to  whomsoever  among  them  she 
should  choose  to  wed. 

Theodolind's  choice  fell  on  Agilulf,  Duke  of 
Turin.  His  first  care  was  to  make  an 
advantageous  peace  with  the  Franks,  and  a 
truce  with  the  exarch.  But  the  dukes  of 
Benevent  and  Spoleto  refused  to  be  bound  by 
his  acts.  Their  troops  continued  to  terrorise 
the  Campagna,  and  St.  Gregory  wrote  in  the 
bitterness  of  his  soul : 


TAMING  THE  TEUTONS 


147 


“For  my  sins  I find  myself  Bishop  of  the 
Lombards  whose  promises  stab  like  swords.” 

He  warned  the  exarch  that  Benevent  was 
tampering  with  the  Naples  garrison.  He 
counselled  that  the  imperial  troops  should  not 
always  remain  on  the  defensive,  but  by  a 
vigorous  thrust  on  Spoleto  force  the  Lombards 
in  the  Campagna  to  face  rearwards  in  order  to 
defend  their  homes.  Then,  seeing  that  his 
advice  availed  nothing,  he  appointed,  on  his 
own  responsibility,  a military  governor  at  Nepi, 
and  replaced  the  governor  of  Naples  by  an  abler 
man.  The  Theodosian  regiment  at  Rome 
refused  to  mount  guard  because  their  pay  was 
in  arrears.  St.  Gregory  quieted  their  clamour 
with  money  taken  from  the  treasury  of  the 
Church.  Henceforth  they  were  the  Pope's 
soldiers,  not  the  Emperor’s. 

The  exarch  Romanus,  who  came  into  office 
in  590,  was  a weakling  from  whom  nobody  had 
anything  to  fear,  always  excepting  the  unfor- 
tunate Italians  whom  he  oppressed.  So  long  as 
the  war  kept  away  from  the  impregnable 
marshes  around  Ravenna,  he  was  callous  to  the 
misery  it  dealt  elsewhere  : “ the  towns  dis- 
peopled, strongholds  dismantled,  the  churches 
burnt  and  the  monasteries  plundered,  the  wild 
beasts  roaming  where  the  multitude  of  men  did 
dwrell.”  And  wherever  his  tax-gatherers  could 


148  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


safely  venture,  he  extorted  money  from  the 
men  whom  he  did  nothing  to  defend. 

" His  ill-will  to  us,”  wrote  St.  Gregory,  “ is 
worse  than  the  swords  of  the  Lombards.  The 
enemies  who  kill  us  outright  are  kinder  than 
the  State  officials,  who  wear  us  out  with  their 
malice,  their  robberies  and  their  frauds.” 

In  593  Romanus  added  perfidy  to  his  other 
misdeeds.  Despite  the  treaty  he  had  signed 
with  Agilulf,  he  took  Perugia  by  treachery,  and 
other  towns  as  well.  In  revenge  for  this  outrage 
the  Lombard  king  marched  an  army  upon 
Rome.  From  the  battlements  of  his  scantily 
garrisoned  city  the  Pope  saw  v/ith  his  own  eyes 
“ Romans  tied  by  the  neck  like  dogs  ” and  led 
off  to  be  sold  as  slaves  to  the  Franks.  He  broke 
off  abruptly  his  discourse  in  the  Lateran 
basilica,  where  he  was  preaching  his  course  of 
homilies  on  Ezechiel. 

" Two  things  trouble  me.  The  text  is  obscure, 
and  news  has  reached  me  that  King  Agilulf  has 
crossed  the  Po,  on  his  way  to  besiege  us.  Judge, 
my  brethren,  how  a poor  soul  thus  weighed 
down  with  heaviness,  can  penetrate  into  such 
hidden  mysteries  ! Let  no  man  blame  me  if  I 
preach  no  more.  On  all  sides  we  are  hemmed 
in  with  swords.  On  all  sides  death  stands  at 
the  door.  Some  of  our  fellow-citizens  have  just 
come  in  to  us  with  their  hands  lopped  off. 


TAMING  THE  TEUTONS 


149 


They  bear  tidings  that  others  have  been  carried 
into  slavery,  and  others  slain.  What  remains  for 
us  but  to  thank  God  with  tears,  under  the 
scourges  which  we  suffer  for  our  sins.  For  some- 
times our  Heavenly  Father  feeds  his  children  with 
bread,  sometimes  he  corrects  them  with  the  rod, 
educating  them  by  sorrows  and  by  joys  for  the 
inheritance  to  be  theirs  throughout  eternity/  * 

But  this  tense  anxiety  did  not  last  long. 
“ On  the  steps  of  the  basilica  of  Blessed  Peter, 
Prince  of  the  Apostles/'  St.  Gregory  faced 
Agilulf,  as  erstwhile  Innocent  had  faced  Alaric, 
and  St.  Leo  the  Great  had  faced  Attila.  And 
the  King,  “ melted  by  Gregory's  prayers  and 
greatly  moved  by  his  religious  commands," 
gave  orders  for  the  siege  to  cease.  A truce  was 
concluded,  and  the  Pope  guaranteed  the  yearly 
payment  of  five  hundred  gold  pieces. 

“ The  emperor  has  a paymaster  for  his  troops 
in  Ravenna,"  he  wrote  to  the  empress,  “ but 
he  leaves  me  to  be  the  paymaster  of  the 
Lombards  in  Rome." 

The  tribute  was  burdensome,  but  the  peace 
it  paid  for  was  well  worth  while.  The  Emperor, 
however,  blamed  the  Pope,  and  sharp  letters 
were  interchanged. 

“ I understand  what  your  serene  missives 
mean,"  wrote  Gregory.  “ You  find  that  I have 
acted  like  a fool,  and  you  are  right.  If  I had 


150  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


not  acted  like  a fool,  I should  not  have  borne 
all  I have  borne  for  your  sake,  amid  the  swords 
of  the  Lombards.” 

It  was  only  when  a more  friendly  exarch  had 
replaced  Romanus  at  Ravenna  that  a treaty 
could  be  arranged  between  the  emperor  and  the 
king — the  treaty  known  in  history  as  “ The 
Pope's  Peace.” 

St.  Gregory  defined  his  attitude  during  the 
preliminaries  as  " intercessor  and  mediator.” 
But  his  name  does  not  appear  among  the 
signatures.  He  refused  to  sign,  however 
urgently  the  Lombards  might  plead,  " for  they 
trusted  his  word,  and  despised  the  oaths  of  the 
emperor's  officers.”  He  feared  the  bad  faith 
of  both  Greeks  and  Lombards,  and  refused  to 
degrade  the  Holy  See  by  becoming  a partner 
to  their  evasions. 

“ Briefly  point  out  to  our  Most  Serene  Lord,” 
he  instructs  his  apocrisarius,  “ that  if  I,  his 
servant,  had  chosen  to  mix  myself  up  with  the 
downfall  of  the  Lombards,  that  people  to  day 
would  have  neither  king,  nor  dukes  nor  counts. 
But,  because  I fear  God,  I dread  being  con- 
cerned in  the  death  of  any  man.” 

Henceforward  his  relations  w^ere  most  friendly 
with  the  Court  at  Pavia.  He  writes  to  King 
Agilulf  to  restrain  his  roving  bands,  “ chiefly 
those  in  this  neighbourhood,”  and  not  to  seek 


TAMING  THE  TEUTONS  151 

“ occasions  for  unpleasantness.”  He  writes  to 
Queen  Theodolind  : 

“ We  entreat  you  to  thank  the  King,  your 
husband  and  our  very  excellent  son,  for  the 
peace  that  he  has  made,  and  to  move  his  soul 
(as  you  usually  do)  to  keep  this  peace  in  time 
to  come.  Friendship  with  us  will  be  of  ad- 
vantage to  him  in  many  ways.” 

“ Most  excellent  daughter,”  he  writes  again, 
" you  have  merited  no  small  reward  for 
hindering  bloodshed.  We  pray  that  God  in 
His  Mercy  may  repay  you  in  goods  both  of 
body  and  of  soul,  both  here  and  hereafter. 
We  exhort  you  to  foster,  in  your  own  way, 
whatever  tends  to  promote  good  feeling  between 
the  two  nations.  Exert  yourself  on  every 
opportunity  as  mercy  may  suggest.” 

Theodolind  gave  him  other  cause  for  con- 
gratulation. She  exerted  herself,  ” in  her  own 
way,”  to  bring  her  family  and  her  people  into 
the  one  true  fold.  When  her  son,  Adoald,  was 
born  at  Genoa  in  602,  his  father  allowed  him 
to  be  baptised  a Catholic.  St.  Gregory's  death- 
bed was  gladdened  by  the  tidings,  and  he  sent 
“ the  royal  Adoald  ” a relic  of  the  True  Cross, 
with  affectionate  wishes  that  he  might  " grow 
up  glorious  in  the  sight  of  God.” 

Adoald  was  crowned,  probably  in  his  father's 
lifetime,  with  the  famous  Iron  Crown  of 


152  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Lombardy,  which  he  was  the  first  of  a long 
succession  of  princes  to  wear.  In  this  golden 
circlet,  sparkling  with  jewels,  Theodolind  had 
enshrined  the  thin  strip  of  iron,  forged  from  one 
of  the  sacred  Nails  of  Calvary,  which  the 
Empress  St.  Helena  had  erstwhile  fastened  to 
the  helmet  of  her  son,  Constantine  the  Great. 

St.  Gregory  knew  of  Theodolind’s  devotion 
to  holy  relics.  He  sent  her,  at  different  times, 
filings  from  St.  Peter's  chains,  dust  from  the 
tomb  of  St.  Paul,  and  branded,  or  cloths,  which 
had  touched  the  bodies  of  certain  martyrs. 
He  sent  her,  too,  a copy  of  his  Dialogues , that 
most  popular  of  all  his  works,  the  writing 
whereof  had  served  as  relief  and  recreation  amid 
the  labours,  anxieties  and  illnesses  of  his  weary 
years  as  Pope. 

" One  day,”  it  begins,  “ overweighted  with 
the  burden  of  worldly  business,  I sought  a 
secluded  spot  where  I might  quietly  indulge  in 
grief.  And  there  I ran  over  in  my  mind  all 
that  was  unpleasant  in  my  position.  And  when 
I had  sat  there  a long  time  in  sorrow  and  in 
silence,  there  came  to  me  Peter,  my  dear  son 
and  deacon,  a man  whom  I had  loved  from  his 
youth  upward,  a man  with  whom  I was  wont 
to  share  my  studies  in  Holy  Scripture.” 

To  him  Gregory  unbosomed  his  discontent, 
because  of  the  ” dust  of  worldly  business  ” 


TAMING  THE  TEUTONS 


153 


which  so  defiled  his  soul  as  to  render  it  unfit 
to  muse  upon  things  heavenly,  and  his  dismay 
when  he  compared  his  own  weakness  and 
imperfection  with  the  lives  of  those  good  men 
and  true  who  were  not,  as  he  was,  " storm-tost 
amid  the  boisterous  billows  of  worldly  affairs." 

“ If  I should,  Peter,  but  relate  to  you  those 
facts  concerning  the  lives  and  miracles  of  holy 
men  in  Italy,  whom  I have  known  myself,  or 
heard  of  from  the  lips  of  trustworthy  witnesses, 
I should  sooner  lack  day  to  talk  in,  than  matter 
to  talk  about/' 

Many  of  the  “ miracles  " would  not  pass 
master  nowadays  at  the  Lourdes  Bureau,  or 
in  the  strict  inquiries  which  precede  canonisa- 
tion. But  St.  Gregory  wrote,  as  Abbot  Smith 
points  out,  " in  an  age  of  continued  calamity  ; 
and  during  such  periods  people  look  for  wonders, 
and  even  educated  men  are  led  to  give  credence 
to  signs  and  portents." 

The  book  is  not  meant  to  be  an  utterance 
ex-cathedra.  The  holy  Pope  wrote  down  his 
stories  just  as  he  heard  them.  He  names  his 
authorities  in  most  cases,  and  warns  his  readers 
that  the  wording  is  his  own,  only  because  he 
found  it  impossible  to  translate  verbatim  from 
the  spoken  dialect  into  w7rite-worthy  Latin. 
“ Some  of  my  informants  told  their  stories  in 
very  rustic  style,  so  that  a man  of  letters  could 


154  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


not  decently  preserve  their  actual  words  in 
his  record/' 

This  collection  of  pious  anecdotes  has  been 
compared  to  the  Fioretti  or  Little  Flowers  of 
St.  Francis.  Both  books  mirror  faithfully  the 
Italy  in  which  they  were  written.  But  the 
bright  and  sunny  Fioretti  are  of  Catholic  Italy 
in  the  thirteenth  century,  wdrile  the  Dialogues 
deal  with  Italy,  writhing  under  the  heel  of  the 
Barbarians,  amid  the  ruins  of  her  former 
splendour.  The  Fioretti , moreover,  never  ob- 
trude their  moral,  while  St.  Gregory  used  his 
stories  to  make  the  truths  of  religion  and  the 
virtues  of  a devout  life  more  readily  understood 
and  relished  by  the  average  man. 

“ And  above  all  they  gave,  or  seemed  to 
give,  what  the  men  of  those  times  especially 
craved  for,  a proof  of  God's  continual  presence 
with  His  people,  an  assurance  that  even  then, 
when  evil  seemed  universally  triumphant,  the 
power  of  God  was  still  put  forth  to  punish  and 
to  save."  ( Dudden .) 

Many  of  the  tales  reappear  in  the  Homilies. 
But  as  the  collection  grew,  the  needs  of  the 
Lombards  became  evidently  uppermost  in  St. 
Gregory's  mind.  For  the  fourth  book  deals 
entirely  with  the  nature  of  the  soul  and  its 
life  after  death,  questions  which  sorely  perplexed 
the  Teutons  of  that  period,  and  about  which 


TAMING  THE  TEUTONS 


155 


their  mythology  was  most  vague.  We  have  all 
heard  Bede’s  account  of  the  Northumbrian 
noble  who  compared  the  life  of  man  here  below 
to  the  swift  flight  of  a sparrow  on  a dark, 
snowy  night,  in  at  one  door  and  out  at  the  other 
of  a well-lit,  well-warmed  room. 

“ While  he  is  within  he  is  safe  from  the  storm. 
But  after  a short  space  of  fair  weather,  he 
vanishes  out  of  our  sight  into  the  dark  winter 
from  which  he  came.” 

Although  Bede  does  not  mention  it,  St. 
Paulinus  had  doubtless  with  him  a copy  of  the 
Dialogues  from  which  to  satisfy  the  honest 
heathen. 

There  were  Arians  as  well  as  pagans  among 
the  Lombards,  but  these  heretics  seem  to  have 
given  little  trouble  from  a theological  point  of 
view.  For  Arianism  was  essentially  a State 
religion ; and  the  conversion  of  the  people 
followed  that  of  the  prince,  as  a matter  of  course. 
In  Africa  Arianism  vanished  with  the  Vandals, 
about  the  time  our  saint  was  born.  In  the  year 
before  his  pontificate  began  the  heresy  died  out 
in  Spain  with  the  conversion  of  King  Reccared. 

Leovigild,  the  last  Arian  ruler  of  the 
Visigoths,  began  his  busy  reign  in  568,  the  year 
the  Lombards  invaded  Italy.  At  this  date  the 
imperial  troops  still  held  Cordova,  and  the 
native  Spaniards  looked  to  Constantinople  for 


156  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


support  when  the  arrogance  of  their  Arian 
masters  became  intolerable.  The  Suabians  in 
the  North,  too,  were  now  Catholics.  They  had 
long  ago  fraternised  with  the  Basques,  and  were 
on  friendly  terms  with  the  Franks  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Pyrenees. 

But  the  ruling  race  in  Spain,  the  Visigoths, 
were  bitter  Arians,  and  St.  Gregory  of  Tours 
tells  us  that  their  nobles  had  “ the  detestable 
habit  of  killing  their  king  whenever  he  dis- 
pleased them.”  But  Leovigild  cured  them  of  this 
bad  habit,  for  he  left  not  a male  alive  among 
the  nobles,  and  took  steps  to  start  a dynasty. 

To  keep  the  kingly  office  in  his  family  he  had 
his  son,  Hermengild,  crowned,  and  gave  him 
rule  over  Seville  and  the  districts  around. 
A series  of  raids  broke  the  power  of  the  Greek 
garrisons.  Leovigild  took  from  the  Suabians 
their  treasure  and  their  land.  Matrimonial 
alliances  put  him  on  a friendly  footing  with 
the  Frankish  kings.  His  own  second  wife, 
Galswinth,  was  by  a previous  marriage  mother 
of  Brunehaut,  Queen  of  Austrasia,  and  of 
Galswinth,  wife  and  victim  of  King  Chilperic  of 
Neustria.  Brunehaut’s  daughter,  Ingonde, 
became  the  bride  of  King  Hermengild  ; and 
this  child  of  thirteen  resisted  all  attempts  to 
undermine  her  faith,  and  bore  bravely  the  harsh 
treatment  meted  out  to  her  by  her  grandmother, 


TAMING  THE  TEUTONS 


157 


Queen  Galswinth.  Ingonde's  constancy  so  im- 
pressed her  bridegroom  that  he  abjured  Arian- 
ism,  and  received  Confirmation  at  the  hands 
of  his  uncle,  St.  Leander,  Bishop  of  Seville. 

Leovigild  ordered  his  son  to  give  up  his  faith 
or  his  crown.  Civil  war  ensued ; and  St. 
Leander,  driven  from  his  see,  went  to  Constan- 
tinople to  appeal  to  the  emperor  for  military 
support.  Such  was  the  state  of  Spain  when 
St.  Gregory  heard  the  story  from  his  lips. 

Both  saints  were  back  at  their  duties  in  the 
West  when  Hermengild,  in  prison,  had  his  head 
cloven  with  an  axe  by  his  father's  orders, 
because  he  refused  to  receive  his  Easter  Com- 
munion at  the  hands  of  an  Arian  bishop. 

“ One  Visigoth  died  that  many  might  live," 
is  St.  Gregory's  comment.  “ One  grain  was 
sown  in  faith,  and  a great  crop  of  faithful 
people  sprang  therefrom." 

For  in  5S9  Leovigild  died,  full  of  remorse  ; 
and  Reccared,  his  second  son,  succeeded  him 
on  the  throne.  Of  this  young  king,  St.  Gregory 
writes : “ Walking  in  the  footsteps  of  his 

brother  the  martyr,  he  utterly  renounced 
Arianism,  and  laboured  so  earnestly  to  restore 
religion  that  he  brought  the  whole  nation  of 
the  Visigoths  to  the  Faith  of  Christ,  and  would 
not  suffer  anyone  that  was  a heretic  among  his 
subjects  to  bear  arms  and  serve  in  his  wars." 


158  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


St.  Gregory  further  expresses  his  joy  in  a 
letter  to  St.  Leander  : 

" But  since  you  know  the  wiles  of  the  old 
enemy,  and  that  he  wages  a fiercer  war  against 
those  who  have  once  been  victorious,  I trust 
that  Your  Holiness  will  nowf  watch  over  the 
King,  so  that  he  may  finish  what  he  has  well 
begun.  Do  not  suffer  him  to  take  pride  in  his 
good  works.  Help  him  to  preserve,  by  the 
excellency  of  his  life,  the  faith  which  he  has 
now  embraced.  Make  it  clear  to  him  that  he 
must  prove  himself  by  his  works  a citizen  of  the 
Heavenly  Kingdom.  And  so,  after  many  years, 
may  he  pass  happily  from  crown  to  crown/1 

Some  years  later  he  writes  to  Reccared 
himself : “I  cannot  express  in  words,  most 
excellent  son,  how  pleased  I am  with  your 
work  and  conduct.  I often  speak  to  my  children 
here  of  your  achievements,  and  we  wonder  at 
them  with  delight.  And  often  are  my  feelings 
roused  against  myself,  sluggish  and  useless  and 
torpid  in  listless  ease,  while  kings  are  toiling  to 
gather  in  souls  for  the  heavenly  Kingdom. 
Still  I have  this  comfort,  good  man,  that  when 
I rejoice  and  exult  in  your  good  deeds,  what  is 
yours  by  labour  becomes  mine  by  charity.” 

With  this  letter  he  sends  a relic  of  the  True 
Cross  to  Reccared,  and  a small  key  which  had 
touched  the  relics  of  St.  Peter.  " In  this  key 


TAMING  THE  TEUTONS 


*59 


I have  inserted  some  filings  from  his  chains,  so 
that  what  bo  and  his  neck  in  martyrdom  may 
deliver  yon  from  your  sins/'  He  exhorts  him 
to  persevere  in  humility  of  heart  and  cleanness 
of  body,  and  bids  him  not  to  do  quickly  even 
that  which  is  lawful,  " lest  power  corrupt  the 
mind  and  anger  creep  in.  For  deeds  of  cruelty 
will  be  condoned  as  just,  if  anger  once  get  a 
footing  in  the  mind,  not  following  behind  reason, 
as  a handmaid  ready  at  reason's  call  to  step 
forward  and  chastise  a criminal." 

Reccared  begged  St.  Gregory  to  obtain  from 
the  emperor  a copy  of  a treaty  with  Justinian 
which  defined  the  position  of  the  Gothic  kings. 
The  Pope  discreetly  declined  to  interfere. 
“ You  ought  to  search  your  own  archives,"  he 
hints,  “ for  the  documents  which  are  unfavour- 
able to  you,  and  not  ask  me  to  produce  them." 

He  advised  the  young  king  to  treat  all  his 
subjects  on  an  equal  footing,  so  that  merit  and 
not  race  should  decide  a man’s  fitness  for  office, 
as  was  the  custom  when  Spain  was  under 
Roman  rule.  Well  had  it  been  for  his  dynasty 
had  Reccared  followed  this  advice.  But  the 
Visigoths  alone  had  full  citizenship,  and  when 
the  Moors  won  at  Xeres  in  71 1,  the  Spaniards 
acquiesced  with  apathy  in  the  change  of  masters. 
And  so  in  a land  admirably  fitted  for  guerilla 
warfare,  the  Mohammedans  conquered  with  such 


i6o  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


ease  and  rapidity  that  in  732  they  crossed  the 
Pyrenees  to  receive  their  first  set-back  at 
Poitiers,  when  they  hurled  themselves  against  a 
nation  in  arms  with  all  the  fighting  qualities  to 
be  expected  from  an  army  of  Gauls  and  Franks. 

Evils  of  another  nature  afflicted  Gaul.  There 
victors  and  vanquished  had  the  same  religion, 
the  same  civic  rights.  Since  the  conversion  of 
Clovis  the  clergy  held  an  honoured  place  in 
feudalism  ; but  simony  and  lay  investiture,  with 
their  hideous  outcome  of  immorality  and  in- 
dependence of  the  Holy  See,  sapped  the  energy  of 
the  Churches  among  the  Franks.  Black  indeed 
is  the  record  of  unworthy  ecclesiastics  which 
confront  us  in  the  pages  of  such  writers  as 
St.  Gregory  of  Tours. 

In  his  letters  to  King  Childebert  of  Austrasia 
and  to  his  own  apostolic  delegate,  Virgilius, 
Bishop  of  Arles,  our  holy  Pope  denounces  these 
abuses  in  strong  terms.  " Reports  have  reached 
me,"  he  writes,  " that  in  parts  of  Gaul  and 
Germany  no  one  receives  Holy  Orders  without 
paying  money.  If  this  be  so,  I condemn  it  with 
grief ; for,  when  the  priesthood  is  corrupt 
within,  it  cannot  resist  assaults  from  without. 
I am  informed,  too,  of  another  detestable 
practice.  When  bishops  die,  mere  laymen  are 
sometimes  tonsured,  from  desire  of  temporal 
glory.  They  suddenly  become  priests,  and  at 


TAMING  THE  TEUTONS 


161 


one  step  mount  to  the  rank  of  bishops.  And 
thus  one  who  has  never  been  a papil  himself 
becomes  a master.  How  can  he  teach  what  he 
has  not  learnt  ? How  can  he  atone  for  the  sins 
of  others  when  he  has  not  bewailed  his  own  ? 
He  may  be  called  a shepherd,  but  he  does  not 
feed  his  flock,  he  leads  it  astray.’ 1 In  the  royal 
armies,  he  reminds  the  king,  only  tried  men  are 
made  generals.  " It  is  shameful,  and  we  blush 
to  say  it,  priests  assume  command  of  souls  who 
have  not  seen  even  the  beginnings  of  religious 
warfare.” 

Politically  all  was  chaos.  When  Childebert 
died  in  596  his  kingdom  was  divided  between 
his  infant  sons,  Theodebert  in  Burgundy  and 
Theodoric  in  Austrasia,  under  the  regency  of 
their  grandmother  Brunehaut.  Neustria,  the 
land  North  of  the  Loire  and  West  of  the  Meuse, 
was  ruled  by  the  brilliantly  clever  and 
atrociously  vile  Queen  Fredegonde,  in  the  name 
of  her  son,  Clotaire. 

With  Fredegonde,  St.  Gregory  had  little  or 
nothing  to  do.  He  did  not  even  write  to  secure 
her  goodwill  for  the  travellers,  when  he  sent 
St.  Augustine  and  his  forty  monks  to  Kent. 
But  many  letters  passed  between  the  Pope  and 
Brunehaut. 

At  her  request  he  sent  the  pallium  to  Syagrius, 
Bishop  of  Autun.  The  case  is  unique  in  this 

M 


1 62  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


pontificate,  for  the  pallium  gave  indeed  prestige 
to  Syagrius,  and  thereby  increased  his  usefulness 
to  the  Church,  but  did  not  burden  him  with 
extra  responsibilities. 

Brunehaut  loved  Autun,  and  we  find  St. 
Gregory  issuing  charters  to  the  convent,  the 
church  and  the  hospital  which  she  founded  in 
that  city.  “ We  rejoice  in  your  Christianity/* 
he  told  her  in  a covering  letter,  “ since  you 
strive  to  increase  the  honour  of  those  whom 
you  know  to  be  servants  of  God.” 

" How  many  good  gifts  has  God  bestowed 
upon  you/*  he  writes  on  another  occasion. 
And  how  clearly  do  your  many  meritorious 
deeds  make  manifest  to  men  that  the  goodness 
of  heavenly  grace  has  filled  your  heart,  and  that 
you  add  to  regal  power  the  ornament  of  wisdom. 
I have,  therefore,  great  confidence  that  you  will 
correct  abuses.  Do  God’s  work,  and  He  will 
do  yours.  Order  a synod  to  meet  in  order  to 
put  down  simony  in  your  kingdom.  Believe 
me,  money  sinfully  acquired  is  never  profitably 
spent.  Years  of  experience  have  taught  me 
this.  If  you  do  not  wish  to  be  deprived  of 
anything  unjustly,  see  to  it  that  you  acquire 
nothing  unjustly.  If  you  wish  to  conquer  your 
enemies  by  the  help  of  God,  observe  with 
reverential  awe  the  Commandments  of  God.” 


CHAPTER  X 


MISSIONARY  MONKS. 

BRUNEHAUTS  niece  by  marriage, 
Bertha,  the  daughter  of  Caribert, 
King  of  Paris,  had  a heathen  husband, 
Ethelbert,  King  of  Kent,  whose  political 
supremacy  stretched  beyond  his  own  boundaries 
as  far  as  the  Humber,  the  Severn  and  the 
Tamar.  Luidhard,  a French  bishop,  went  with 
Bertha  as  her  chaplain,  and  said  Mass  for  her 
in  the  ruined  chapel  of  St.  Martin,  hard  by  the 
walls  of  Canterbury.  But  neither  bishop  nor 
queen  made  any  impression  on  the  religion  of 
the  country  or  the  king. 

Years  had  not  weakened  the  high  resolve 
formed  long  ago  in  the  slave-market  at  Rome. 
In  the  autumn  of  595  St.  Gregory  ordered 
Candidus,  the  priest  in  charge  of  the  papal 
estates  in  Provence,  to  spend  the  revenues  on 
clothes  for  the  poor,  and  on  English  slave  boys, 
seventeen  or  eighteen  years  of  age,  whom  he 
must  send  for  their  education  to  monasteries  in 
Rome.  A priest  was  to  go  with  them  to  begin 
their  instruction,  and  to  baptize  in  case  of 
death  on  the  way. 


164  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


In  the  following  spring  a band  of  monks  left 
Rome  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  Kent.  At  their 
head  was  Augustine,  who  had  once  shared 
Gregory’s  cell  in  St.  Andrew’s,  and  became  later 
his  confidential  secretary.  At  Marseilles  and  at 
Aix  they  were  hospitably  entertained,  and 
frightened,  too,  with  gruesome  tales  of  the 
savagery  of  the  Angles  for  whose  sake  they  had 
set  forth.  The  difficulty  of  making  themselves 
understood  by  Frenchmen  who  spoke  no  Latin, 
brought  home  to  them,  moreover,  the  fact  that 
they  would  have  to  live  among  barbarians  of 
whose  language  they  knew  not  a word. 

In  short,  they  were  so  disheartened  that 
St.  Augustine  had  to  leave  them  in  the  monastic 
islets  of  Lerins,  and  hasten  back  to  Rome  to 
plead  for  their  recall.  But  the  Pope  sent  him 
again  forward  with  a letter  of  encouragement 
dated  July  the  23rd 

“ Gregory,  servant  of  the  servants  of  God,  to 
his  brethren  the  servants  of  Our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  on  their  way  to  England. 

“ Better  not  to  begin  a good  work  than  to 
leave  off  after  having  once  begun.  My  beloved 
sons,  you  have  begun  this  work  with  the  help 
of  God.  You  must  strive  strenuously  to  com- 
plete it.  Be  not  deterred  by  the  toils  of  the 
journey  nor  by  the  tongues  of  detractors. 
Onward  in  God’s  Name  ! The  more  you  have 


MISSIONARY  MONKS 


165 


to  suffer  the  brighter  will  be  your  glory  eternally. 
Obey  in  all  things,  with  humble  reverence, 
Augustine,  your  prior,  whom  we  now  appoint 
your  abbot.  Whatever  he  tells  you  to  do  will 
be  of  profit  to  your  souls.  May  the  grace  of 
the  Almighty  guard  and  guide  you  ! May  he 
grant  me  to  behold  from  the  heavenly  shore  the 
fruit  of  your  exertions.  If  I cannot  share  your 
toil  as  your  fellow-worker,  I can  at  least  rejoice 
in  your  harvest.  For  God  knows  I lack  not 
the  goodwill  to  work.” 

Augustine  brought  with  him  other  letters 
which  the  Pope  had  written  to  such  influential 
persons  as  could  help  the  missionaries  on  their 
journey.  He  begged  Brunehaut,  “ accustomed 
to  good  works,”  to  furnish  safe  conduct.  He 
begged  her  grandsons  to  supply  them  with 
interpreters.  He  wrote  to  the  King  of  Neustria 
on  their  behalf,  and  to  all  bishops  through  whose 
dioceses  their  road  lay. 

Only  in  Anjou  did  they  meet  with  incivility. 
Here  they  had  to  shelter  for  the  night  under 
the  spreading  branches  of  an  elm  tree.  Here 
the  people  shrank  from  them  as  from  were- 
wolves, and  the  women  cursed  them  and  yelled 
revilingly. 

The  French  interpreters  had  swelled  the  band 
to  forty  when  they  landed  at  Ebbesfleet,  on  the 
low  flat  beach  in  treeless  Thanet.  Here  they 


1 66  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


halted  and  sent  messengers  to  King  Ethelbert, 
to  tell  how  they  had  come  to  him  from  Rome 
with  the  best  tidings,  even  the  assurance,  to  all 
who  would  accept  it,  of  eternal  joys  in  heaven 
with  the  living  and  only  God. 

A few  days  later  the  king  gave  them  audience 
in  the  open  air,  for  he  feared  bewitchment  if  he 
received  the  missionaries  indoors.  But  they 
advanced,  says  Bede,  " with  divine  not  magic 
might,  bearing  aloft  a great  silver  Cross  and 
the  picture  of  Our  Saviour  painted  on  a gilded 
board,  and  entreating  in  chanted  litany  that 
Our  Lord  would  save  both  themselves  and  those 
to  whom  they  came/' 

Then  Augustine  stood  forth — a man  of 
reverend  and  gentle  mien,  of  patrician  bearing, 
a head  and  shoulders  above  his  fellows.  At  the 
king's  command  he  sat  and  told  through  his 
interpreters  “ how  the  pitiful  Jesus  by  His  Own 
Agony  had  redeemed  the  sinful  world  and 
opened  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  to  all  true 
believers." 

"Fair  words  and  promises  are  these,"  quoth 
Ethelbert,  " but  new  to  us  and  of  uncertain 
import.  I cannot  all  at  once  forsake  that  which 
I and  all  Englishmen  have  from  infancy  held 
sacred.  But  since  you  have  come  to  us  from 
afar  to  make  known  to  us  what  you  believe  to 
be  best  and  true,  we  shall  do  you  no  hurt,  but 


MISSIONARY  MONKS 


167 


treat  you  kindly  and  supply  your  needs. 
Neither  do  we  forbid  you  to  preach  and  to  bring 
over  as  many  as  you  can  to  your  religion.” 

So  the  black-robed  procession  passed  on  to 
Canterbury,  where  the  king  allotted  them  their 
lodgings.  As  they  entered  the  city  gates,  they 
raised  the  Cross  on  high,  and  chanted  : 

“ We  beseech  Thee,  O Lord,  in  all  Thy  Mercy  ! 
Turn  away  Thy  wrath  from  this  city  and 
from  Thy  holy  house  ! For  we  have  sinned. 
Alleluia  ! ” 

The  monks  lived  in  Canterbury  after  the 
fashion  of  the  early  Christians,  says  Bede,  “ in 
prayer,  in  vigils  and  in  fasting,  preaching  the 
Word  of  Life  to  as  many  as  came  to  listen, 
refusing  all  gifts  save  the  bare  necessaries  of 
life,  ready  to  die,  if  need  were,  for  the  truths 
they  taught.  And  many  believed  and  were 
baptized,  won  over  by  the  simplicity  of  their 
innocent  life  and  by  the  sweetness  of  their 
heavenly  doctrine.” 

Soon  the  king  himself  became  a Christian. 
He  compelled  none  to  embrace  the  faith,  only 
he  showed  more  affection  to  the  believers,  as  his 
fellow-citizens  in  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

“ For  he  had  learnt  from  his  instructors  and 
leaders  to  salvation  that  the  service  of  Christ 
ought  to  be  voluntary  and  not  constrained.” 

King  Ethelbert  was  baptized  on  Whitsun  Eve 


1 68  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


in  St.  Martin's  Church.  On  the  following 
Christmas  Eve  ten  thousand  of  his  subjects  w^ere 
born  again  to  Christ  in  the  waters  of  the  Swale, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Medway.  Between  these 
dates  St.  Augustine  had  crossed  over  to  France, 
and  come  back  consecrated  " Archbishop  of  the 
English." 

The  title  may  have  been  premature,  since  all 
the  converts  thus  far  were  Jutes  and  Saxons. 
But  in  a sense  it  was  prophetic.  Christianity 
was  to  prove  more  powerful  than  race  in 
welding  together  the  isolated  kingdoms  of  the 
Heptarchy. 

Ethelbert  with  his  Great  Lords  signed  and 
sealed  a charter  granting  land  to  St.  Augustine 
and  his  monks  at  Canterbury. 

“ I swear  and  ordain,  in  the  Name  of  Almighty 
God,  the  Just  and  Sovereign  Judge,  that  the 
land  thus  given  is  given  for  ever,  that  it  shall 
not  be  lawful  for  me  or  my  successors  to  take 
any  part  thereof  from  its  owners.  If  any  one 
attempt  to  lessen  or  annul  our  gift,  let  him  be 
in  this  life  deprived  of  the  Holy  Communion  of 
the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ,  and  in  the  Day 
of  Judgment  cut  off  from  the  company  of  the 
Saints." 

But  before  the  foundations  could  be  dug  at 
Canterbury,  St.  Augustine  sent  two  of  his 
companions  to  Rome  with  such  glad  tidings 


MISSIONARY  MONKS  169 

that  St.  Gregory  could  write  in  a letter  to  the 
patriarch  of  Alexandria  : 

" Your  messenger  found  me  sick  and  leaves 
me  sick.  But  God  grants  to  me  gladness  of 
heart  to  temper  the  bitterness  of  my  bodily 
pain.  ...  I know  you  will  rejoice  in  my  joy, 
and  that  you  have  helped  me  by  your  prayers. 
The  people  of  the  Angles,  in  their  remote  angle 
of  the  earth,  have  until  now  been  worshippers 
of  stocks  and  stones.  Moved  by  your  prayers, 
God  inspired  me  to  send  a monk  of  my  monastery 
to  preach  the  Gospel  there.  News  has  just 
reached  me  of  his  well-being,  and  of  such 
marvellous  doings  that  he  and  his  companions 
seem  endowed  with  the  power  of  the  Apostles. 
More  than  ten  thousand  Englishmen  received 
Holy  Baptism  on  the  Feast  of  Our  Lord's 
Nativity.  . . . Your  prayers  are  fruitful  in 
places  where  you  are  not,  while  your  works  are 
manifest  in  the  place  where  you  are." 

The  missionaries  had  built  their  monastery 
before  the  envoys  returned,  and  with  them 
Paulinus  and  Meletus. 

“ They  brought  with  them,"  says  Bede,  “ the 
pallium  for  Augustine,  and  a goodly  store  of 
altar  vessels  and  priestly  vestments,  relics  of 
the  holy  apostles  and  martyrs,  and  many  books." 
They  brought  gifts  also  and  letters  for  the  king 
and  queen. 


170  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


To  Bertha,  St.  Gregory  administered  a mild 
rebuke  : “ Long  ago  you  should  have  striven, 
with  the  prudence  of  a true  Christian,  to  turn 
the  heart  of  your  husband  to  the  faith  which 
you  profess.  Well-instructed  and  pious  as  you 
are,  this  duty  should  have  been  neither  tedious 
nor  difficult.  With  the  help  of  Divine  grace, 
you  must  now  study  to  recover  with  increase 
what  has  been  lost  through  neglect.  I pray 
that  your  love  and  devotion  may  make  the 
angels  in  heaven  share  my  joy  in  your  Christian 
life." 

He  wrote  to  Ethelbert : " Almighty  God 

puts  good  men  in  power,  that  through  them 
He  may  bestow  the  gifts  of  His  Mercy.  Guard 
with  all  care,  my  glorious  son,  the  grace  you 
have  received  from  on  High.  . . . Build  up  a 
nation  in  holy  purity,  exhorting,  threatening, 
encouraging,  chastising,  and  giving  good  example 
yourself.  ...  You  have  with  you  our  very 
reverend  brother.  Bishop  Augustine.  If  you 
give  ear  to  what  he  tells  you,  Almighty  God  will 
be  moved  to  hearken  to  him  when  he  prays 
for  you." 

A special  courier  overtook  the  envoys  on 
their  road  with  a letter  of  useful  advice.  The 
heathen  temples,  if  well  built,  should  be  used 
for  Christian  worship.  “ Once  the  idols  are 
thrust  out,  purify  the  temples  with  Holy  Water 


MISSIONARY  MONKS 


171 


and  erect  altars  enclosing  relics.  For  the  people 
will  come  more  readily  to  the  old  familiar  spots, 
and  putting  error  from  their  hearts,  adore 
therein  the  living  God/' 

The  festivals  of  Holy  Church  are  to  take  the 
place  of  the  beer-feasts  in  honour  of  the  heathen 
gods.  “ Let  them  no  longer  slaughter  oxen  to 
the  devil,  but  kill  them,  to  the  glory  of  God, 
for  their  own  eating,  with  thanksgiving  to  the 
Giver  of  all  good  things.  Thus  while  we  leave 
them  some  enjoyment  to  the  senses,  they  may 
more  easily  be  led  to  desire  the  joys  of  the  soul. 
It  is  impossible  to  change  in  an  instant  all  the 
habits  of  these  uncultured  minds.  A mountain 
is  not  climbed  by  leaps  and  bounds,  but  steadily 
step  by  step.” 

These  w’ere  some  of  the  suggestions  w-hich 
St.  Meletus  was  to  convey  to  St.  Augustine  by 
word  of  mouth,  " that  he,  being  on  the  spot, 
may  consider  how  he  is  to  order  all  things.” 
Augustine  the  monk  had  hitherto  had  his 
superior  and  his  rule  to  regulate  his  actions. 
Augustine  the  bishop — a bishop,  moreover,  in  a 
heathen  land — could  not  always  find  it  fitting 
to  conform  in  every  detail  to  Roman  practice. 
He  had  submitted  to  the  Pope  ten  questions  on 
points  of  discipline  : St.  Gregory  dealt  with 
each  fully,  but  remarked  : 

” I suppose  you  have  been  asked  these 


172  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


questions,  and  wish  for  my  judgment  to  confirm 
your  own.  But  Your  Fraternity  ought  to  be 
able  to  decide  such  things  yourself.  . . . 

“You  are  familiar,  my  brother,  with  the 
customs  of  the  Roman  Church  in  which  you 
were  bred.  But  it  pleases  me  that  you  should 
choose  from  the  different  Churches  in  Gaul  as 
well,  the  things  that  seem  to  you  devout  and 
according  to  reason  for  use  in  England/* 

In  St.  Gregory's  mind  there  were  eventually 
to  be  two  archbishops  in  England,  one  at 
London  and  one  at  York,  each  with  twelve 
suffragans.  Augustine  is  to  hold  the  primacy 
as  long  as  he  lives  ; afterwards  it  is  to  pass 
from  Canterbury  to  whichever  archbishop 
happens  to  be  senior  in  date  of  consecration. 
As  yet  he  is  the  only  bishop  in  England.  He 
may,  if  he  chooses,  invite  other  bishops  from 
Gaul  as  witnesses  when  he  consecrates  a bishop. 

" Married  people  are  invited  to  weddings,  to 
share  in  the  joy  of  bride  and  bridegroom  and 
to  wish  them  well.  In  like  manner,  it  behoveth 
that  when  a man  is  closely  united  to  God  in 
the  sacred  ministry,  therb  should  be  present 
those  who  can  rejoice  in  his  advancement,  and 
jointly  pour  forth  their  prayers  for  his  safe 
keeping.** 

He  is  to  confer  with  the  Bishop  of  Arles  if 
he  sees  in  the  Bishops  of  Gaul  anything  amiss 


MISSIONARY  MONKS 


173 


that  may  be  mended.  " But  we  give  you  no 
authority  over  the  bishops  in  Gaul/'  St. 
Gregory  is  careful  to  add.  " Only  by  persever- 
ing kindness  and  the  display  of  good  works  for 
their  imitation  may  you  labour  for  their  reform. 
For  it  is  written,  ‘ Thou  shalt  not  move  a 
sickle  into  another  man's  harvest.'  All  the 
bishops  of  Britain,  however,  we  commit  to  Your 
Fraternity,  so  that  you  may  instruct  the 
unlearned,  strengthen  the  weak,  punish  with 
authority  the  perverse." 

In  accordance  with  the  Pope's  command,  the 
bishop  of  the  English  met  in  conference  the 
bishops  and  teachers  of  the  Southern  British 
Churches,  at  a place  near  Malmesbury,  called 
in  Bede’s  time  “ Augustine's  Oak."  He  urged 
them,  for  Christ's  dear  sake,  to  work  with  him 
in  Catholic  harmony  at  the  conversion  of  the 
heathen,  and  “ compelled  by  real  necessity,  he 
bowed  his  knees  to  the  Father  of  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  prayed  that  a blind  English' 
man  there  present  might  receivehis  bodily  sight." 

The  cure  that  followed  on  the  instant  con- 
vinced the  Britons  that  Augustine  was  indeed 
a man  of  God.  But  they  would  enter  into  no 
engagements  without  the  consent  of  their  people. 
So  the  date  was  fixed  for  another  and  more 
formal  conference,  to  discuss  the  differences 
between  the  Roman  and  the  Celtic  uses. 


174  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Seven  bishops  and  many  learned  monks  from 
Bangor  were  chosen  delegates  by  the  Britons. 
“ A holy  and  discreet  hermit  " advised  them  to 
exercise  their  private  judgment  (or  his  !)  with 
regard  to  Augustine's  fitness  to  be  their  father 
in  God. 

“If  at  your  approach  he  shall  rise,  hearken 
to  him  submissively,  assured  he  is  the  servant 
of  Christ.  But  if  he  shall  dispise  you  and  remain 
seated,  let  him  also  be  despised  by  you." 

The  Britons  saw  fit  to  arrive  late,  and  St. 
Augustine,  the  Pope's  representative,  saw  fit  to 
receive  them  sitting.  " Forthwith  they  flew 
into  a rage,  charged  him  with  pride,  and 
endeavoured  to  contradict  every  word  he  said." 
In  vain  did  Augustine  offer  to  yield  to  them 
many  of  the  points  in  dispute  : 

“ If  ye  will  keep  Easter  at  the  Pope's  time, 
and  administer  baptism  according  to  the  Roman 
rite,  and  jointly  with  us  preach  the  Word  of 
God  to  the  English  nation,  we  will  readily 
tolerate  all  the  other  things  you  do,  though 
contrary  to  the  custom  of  the  Universal  Church." 

But  they  would  have  none  of  him  as  arch- 
bishop, and  murmured  among  themselves : 
“ Since  he  did  not  rise  to  greet  us  even  now, 
he  will  dispise  us  as  of  no  worth  if  we  begin 
to  be  under  him." 

And  Augustine  broke  up  the  conference  with 


MISSIONARY  MONKS 


175 


the  dark  forboding  : “ If  ye  will  not  accept 
peace  from  brethren,  ye  shall  have  to  accept 
war  from  enemies.  If  ye  will  not  preach  the 
way  of  life  to  the  English,  ye  shall  have  to 
undergo  the  vengeance  of  death  at  the  hands 
of  Englishmen.” 

And  so  it  befell.  For  Ethelfrith,  King  of  the 
Northumbrians,  defeated  the  Welsh  with  great 
slaughter  at  the  place  called  Carlegion,  or  the 
City  of  Legions.  Twelve  hundred  and  fifty  of 
the  monks  from  Bangor  stood  on  the  battle- 
field, with  one  Brocmail  appointed  to  defend 
them,  while  they  prayed  against  the  swords  of 
the  barbarians.  And  King  Ethelfrith  cried  out  : 

“ These  men  indeed  bear  no  weapons,  yet 
they  cry  out  to  their  God  against  us,  and  oppose 
us  by  their  prayers.” 

He  ordered  his  men  to  fall  upon  them,  and 
twelve  hundred  of  the  monks  were  slain.  The 
other  fifty  saved  their  lives  by  flight. 

Augustine  was  a saint  in  heaven,  says  Bede, 
before  his  prophecy  was  thus  fulfilled.  Nor  did 
St.  Gregory  live  long  enough  to  express  himself 
on  the  failure  of  the  conference.  The  points  at 
issue  were,  after  all,  of  minor  importance.  The 
divergence  in  the  date  of  Easter  was  an  error 
in  arithmetic  not  in  dogma.  The  tonsure  varied 
even  on  the  continent.  For  the  Greeks  shaved 
the  whole  head,  the  Romans  left  a round  fringe 


176  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


of  hair.  In  Gaul  long  locks  were  left  at  the 
back  unshorn,  for  among  the  Franks  short  hair 
marked  oat  the  thrall. 

As  regards  baptismal  rites,  St.  Gregory  him- 
self judged  it  expedient  that  the  Spanish 
Churches  should  differ  from  the  use  of  Rome, 
" so  long  as  there  is  nothing  at  variance  with 
the  faith/'  At  Rome  the  waters  of  regeneration 
were  poured  three  times.  But  St.  Leander  lived 
in  the  midst  of  Arians,  and  so  the  Pope  wrote 
to  him  : 

“ Since  nowadays  the  heretics  immerse  the 
infant  three  times  I think  it  ought  not  to  be 
done  by  you,  lest  in  numbering  the  immersions 
they  divide  the  Divinity,  and  if  we  adopt  their 
practice  they  boast  that  they  have  changed  our 
methods." 

St.  Augustine  may  have  insisted  overmuch 
on  these  points  of  discipline.  But  as  to  receiving 
the  Britons  seated,  he  deserves  no  blame — unless, 
and  only  unless,  he  omitted  to  state  clearly  in 
the  preliminaries  the  authority  he  held  from  the 
Pope. 

The  old  British  Church  in  Wales  has  been 
described  as  " an  aggregate  of  clans  centring  in 
a few  great  monasteries,"  and  Irish  monks  had 
leavened  it  with  their  own  deep  reverence  for 
Rome.  The  great  abbey  of  Bangor,  with  its 
“ seven  times  three  hundred  monks,"  was 


MISSIONARY  MONKS 


177 


itself  an  Irish  foundation,  and  most  of  the  Welsh 
bishops  were  trained  at  Bangor.  We  have  no 
grounds  for  assuming  that  the  sons  of  St. 
Comgall  at  Bangor  were  less  loyal  to  the  Holy 
See  than  the  sons  of  St.  Columcille  at  Iona,  or 
than  St.  Columban  and  his  spiritual  family  at 
Luxeuil,  that  Irish  colony  in  the  Vosges  which, 
at  that  very  time,  was  gladdening  the  Pope  by 
their  labours  to  spread  the  faith  in  the  Black 
Forest  and  in  the  Rhineland. 

St.  Columban's  letters  to  St.  Gregory  and  his 
successors  are  not  always  respectful  in  tone. 
" Pardon  me,”  he  writes  to  Pope  Boniface, 
“ if  my  words  sound  offensive  in  pious  ears. 
The  native  liberty  of  my  race  has  made  me 
overbold.”  But  always  in  these  letters  Rome 
is  “ the  chief  seat  of  the  orthodox  faith,”  and 
in  Rome  " the  pillar  of  the  Church  stands 
firm.”  The  Pope  is  the  Shepherd  of  Shepherds, 
the  General-in-Chief  of  God's  Army. 

“ To  the  Chair  of  St.  Peter,”  he  writes,  “ we 
Irish  are  especially  bound.  For  however  great 
and  glorious  Rome  may  be  esteemed  elsewhere, 
it  is  that  Chair  alone  which  makes  her  great 
and  glorious  among  us.  Over  other  nations  the 
prodigious  fame  of  ancient  Rome  has  spread  as 
something  supremely  august ; but  the  Irish 
have  only  heard  of  it  since  the  chariot  of  Christ 
came  rolling  to  us  across  the  sea,  drawn  by 

N 


178  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


those  two  swift  coarsers  St.  Peter  and  St, 
Paul.  . . . There  has  never  been  a heretic,  a 
Jew  or  a schismatic  among  us.  We  preserve 
unchanged  the  Catholic  Faith,  as  it  w^as  first 
delivered  to  us  by  the  Pope,  the  successor  of 
the  Holy  Apostles.” 

St.  Columcille  died  in  Iona  just  one  week 
after  King  Ethelbert  w7as  baptized  in  Kent. 
His  thirty  faithful  years  in  Scotland  cannot  have 
escaped  the  notice  of  St.  Gregory.  How 
otherwise  account  for  the  fine  passage  in  his 
M or  alia  from  the  Book  of  Job,  a book  which  he 
does  not  seem  to  have  retouched  since  he  sent 
a copy  to  St.  Leander  in  595. 

“ Lo  that  Britain,  whose  tongue  has  uttered 
savage  sounds  but  nowr  echoes  the  Alleluia  of 
the  Hebrews  ! Lo  that  wild  sea,  lying  calm  and 
submissive  at  the  feet  of  the  saints  ! Those 
turbulent  tribes  that  the  princes  of  earth  could 
not  quell  by  the  sword,  see  how'  the  simple  word 
of  the  priests  has  curbed  their  pride.  See  that 
unbeliever  who  never  dreaded  troops  of  fighting 
men.  Now7  that  he  believes,  he  is  obedient  to 
the  voice  of  the  meek.  He  knows  fear  now,  but 
it  is  the  fear  of  sin.  Preaching  and  miracles 
have  strengthened  him  in  the  grace  of  God, 
and  he  yearns  with  his  whole  heart  to  come  to 
glory  everlasting/1 

It  was  because  he  knew  what  rich  harvest 


MISSIONARY  MONKS 


179 


crowned  the  zeal  of  Columcille  in  the  North 
that  Gregory  built  high  hopes  on  the  missionary 
adaptability  of  the  Celts  in  South  Britain. 
The  two  saints  never  met  in  the  flesh.  Legends, 
however,  have  been  invented  to  bring  them  face 
to  face  by  bilocation,  and  there  \\  as  long 
treasured  at  Iona  the  brooch  which  it  was 
fondly  fancied  the  Pope  gave  the  abbot  in 
exchange  for  his  pen. 

Better  authenticated  is  the  anecdote  of  the 
Irish  pilgrims  who  visited  Rome  and  returned 
to  their  own  country.  Then,  as  now,  Irishmen 
were  careful  as  to  cleanliness  in  body  and  in 
soul  whenever  they  approached  the  Holy  Table. 
But,  as  we  have  said  in  the  first  chapter,  the 
Roman  aqueducts  were  out  of  repair,  and  it 
was  inconvenient  to  supply  the  pilgrims  with 
all  the  water  they  desired.  So  their  Roman 
hosts  informed  them  it  was  sinful  to  take  baths 
on  Sunday.  The  pilgrims  believed  them  in  good 
faith.  One  of  the  number,  St.  Conal,  on  his 
return  to  Ireland  induced  the  monks  of  his 
monastery  to  forego  all  washing  and  shaving  on 
days  when  the  Church  forbade  servile  work. 

St.  Gregory  was  wroth  with  the  Romans  when 
the  story  reached  his  ears.  “ If  men  desire  to 
bathe  for  the  luxury  and  pleasure  of  it,"  he 
wrote  in  594,  “ we  do  not  permit  it  even  on 
week-days.  But  if  they  desire  it  for  the  sake 


i8o  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


of  health  and  cleanliness,  we  do  not  forbid  it 
even  on  Sundays.  For  if  it  be  a sin  to  take 
baths  on  a Sunday,  the  face  even  ought  not  to 
be  washed  on  that  day.  Why  deny  to  the  whole 
body  what  is  allowed  without  scruple  to  its 
parts  ? ” 


CHAPTER  XI. 


AN  ABSENTEE  LANDLORD 

THERE  are  epochs  in  the  world's  history 
when  a system  gets  its  doom.  Our 
Saviour's  Holy  Week  discourse  on 
Mount  Olivet  seems  a warrant  to  his  Disciples 
to  look  upon  such  crises  as  a rehearsal  of  the 
great  and  terrible  Day  of  the  Lord,  His  Second 
Coming  to  judge  mankind — a rehearsal  merely, 
for  He  tells  us  in  plain  words  : 

“Ye  shall  hear  of  wars  and  rumours  of  wrars  ; 
but  the  end  is  not  yet.  . . . Nation  shall  rise 
against  nation,  and  kingdom  against  kingdom, 
and  there  shall  be  pestilences  and  famines,  and 
earthquakes  in  places.  Now  all  these  are  the 
beginning  of  sorrows." 

It  was  the  end  of  the  Jews  as  God's  chosen 
people,  in  the  Apostolic  Age  when  Jerusalem 
fell.  It  was  the  end  of  the  Roman  system  in 
St.  Gregory's  lifetime,  when  the  barbarian  wave 
broke  over  the  West  and  imperial  unity  made 
way  for  feudalism.  Many  passages  in  his 
letters  and  in  his  homilies  make  it  clear  that  he 
expected — as  St.  Paul  expected  in  his  day,  and 
as  so  many  saints  before  and  since  expected  in 


182  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


theirs — to  see  the  end  of  the  drama  of  human 
history. 

" We  would  have  Your  Glory  know/'  he 
writes  to  King  Ethelbert,  “ from  the  words  of 
Almighty  God  in  Holy  Scripture,  that  the  end 
of  the  present  world  is  at  hand.  . . . We  see 
many  things  around  us  which  were  not  before  : 
changes  in  the  air  and  terrors  from  the  sky, 
and  tempests  outside  the  order  of  the  seasons, 
wars,  famine,  plagues  and  earthquakes  in  divers 
places.  Should  any  of  these  things  happen  in 
your  country,  let  not  your  mind  be  disturbed  ; 
for  these  signs  of  the  end  of  the  world  are  sent 
beforehand,  in  order  that  we  may  be  solicitous 
for  our  souls,  on  the  alert  for  the  hour  of  death, 
and  ready  with  good  wrorks  to  meet  our  Judge.” 

The  great  danger  of  such  an  attitude  of 
expectancy  is  the  listless  apathy  it  is  wont  to 
engender.  St.  Paul  blames  the  Thessalonians 
for  the  idleness  in  which  they  awraited  the  Last 
Day.  For  the  Disciples  in  that  wealthy  business 
centre  neglected  their  work  to  such  an  extent 
that  he  had  to  seek  alms  for  them  at  Philippi, 
to  wTeave  tents  for  a livelihood  while  he  was 
with  them,  and  to  write  to  them  afterwards  in 
grave  rebuke.  “ He  that  will  not  work,  neither 
shall  he  eat.” 

The  self-same  Charity  of  Christ  that  stirred 
in  St.  Paul,  and  made  of  the  apostle  again  an 


AN  ABSENTEE  LANDLORD  183 


artisan,  moved  St.  Gregory,  the  wealthiest 
landowner  in  Italy,  to  enter  minutely  into 
questions  of  tenant  and  farmer,  rent  and  taxes, 
and  everything  else  connected  with  the  improve- 
ment of  the  estates  under  his  control. 

The  continuous  wars  had  upset  agriculture 
and  altered  the  tenure  of  land.  Thraldom  under 
the  Lombards  was  a condition  less  hard  than 
citizenship  under  the  grinding  extortions  of  the 
imperial  procurators.  Many  of  the  landowners, 
unwilling  to  see  their  peasantry  oppressed,  made 
over  their  estates  to  the  Church  and  went  to 
seek  a livelihood  at  the  Court  of  Constantinople. 

Thus  in  Sicily  we  read  of  “ the  Patrimony  of 
St.  Ambrose  ” belonging  to  the  see  of  Milan, 
as  well  as  " the  Patrimony  of  St.  Peter  ” 
belonging  to  the  Holy  See.  “ In  our  times/' 
wrote  St.  Gregory  to  the  bishops  of  that  island, 
" we  must  not  be  entirely  engrossed  with  the 
salvation  of  souls.  We  must  also  be  mindful  of 
the  defence  and  temporal  interests  of  those 
committed  to  our  care." 

Other  Popes  may  have  been  content  to  draw 
a goodly  revenue  each  year  from  their  house 
rents  in  Rome,  from  their  olive-groves  in  the 
Campagna,  from  their  cornfields  in  Sicily,  from 
the  timber  in  the  Calabrian  forests,  from  the 
lead  mines  in  the  islands  on  the  western  sea- 
board. They  may  have  left  more  or  less 


184  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


completely  to  their  agents  [defensors)  the 
management  of  these  and  the  other  patrimonies 
of  St.  Peter  in  Tuscany,  in  Gaul,  in  Africa,  and 
“ the  tiny  one  in  Dalmatia/' 

But  Gregory  looked  into  things  himself. 
After  he  became  Pope  he  never  seems  to  have 
travelled  far  from  Rome,  yet  he  made  sure  that 
every  acre  was  made  to  yield  its  full  amount 
of  produce. 

“ We  have  studs  of  horses  that  are  quite 
useless,"  he  wrote  on  one  occasion.  “ They  do 
not  bring  us  in  sixty  pence  for  every  sixty 
shillings  that  we  pay  the  grooms.  Sell  all  the 
horses,  except  four  hundred  of  the  younger  ones, 
and  these  you  are  to  distribute  among  four 
hundred  of  our  farmers,  so  that  each  may  bring 
us  in  something  every  year.  And  set  the  grooms 
to  till  the  land." 

His  letters  also  to  the  prefect  Innocent  and 
the  exarch  Gennadius,  show  that  he  utilised  the 
goodwill  of  these  officials  to  bring  under  culti- 
vation the  barren  tracts  of  church  land  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Carthage.  Convict  labour 
was  a glut  in  the  market,  whenever  the  tribes- 
men of  the  oases  clashed  swords  with  the 
imperial  legions,  and  a steady  stream  of 
prisoners  of  war  could  always  be  reckoned  on 
to  drain  and  dig,  and  earn  privileges  by  good 
behaviour,  until  at  last  they  became  Christians 


AN  ABSENTEE  LANDLORD  185 


and  settled  down  as  law-abiding,  taxpaying 
citizens. 

But  it  was  only  in  Africa  that  the  Pope  could 
praise  the  zeal  of  the  government  officials 
“ helping  him  to  feed  the  flock  of  the  Blessed 
Apostle  Peter.”  Elsewhere  he  refused  point- 
blank  ever  to  lease  a portion  of  his  patrimony 
to  men  who  had  experience  in  grinding  the  faces 
of  the  poor,  either  as  tax-collectors  or  recruiting 
Serjeants.  For  the  farmers,  or  conductor es  as 
they  were  called,  made  what  profit  they  could 
off  the  land,  after  paying  the  stipulated  rent  in 
money  or  in  produce  ; and  as  they  were  usually 
responsible  also  for  the  taxes  in  their  district, 
they  had  ample  opportunity  for  showing  them- 
selves grasping  and  oppressive  to  the  tillers  of 
the  soil.  There  are  many  allusions  to  conductor  es 
in  St.  Gregory's  letters,  and  it  behoved  his  land 
agents  to  keep  a strict  watch  on  their  proceedings. 

Sometimes  the  farmers  forced  the  peasants 
to  lend  them  money  which  was  never  repaid. 
And  there  were  many  vexatious  petty  payments 
exacted  over  and  above  the  rent. 

“ Make  out  new  leases,”  the  Pope  gave  orders. 
" Increase  the  rent,  if  need  be,  and  if  the 
peasants  can  afford  it.  But  the  lease  is  to 
include  everything  ; let  there  be  no  more  of 
these  disgraceful  additions.  And  lest,  after  my 
death,  the  burdens  which  are  now  abolished 


186  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


should  be  again  reimposed,  we  wish  you  to  set 
down  very  clearly  in  every  lease  the  exact  sum 
the  tenant  has  to  pay.” 

His  agents  always  profited  when  a farm 
changed  hands.  The  farmers  themselves  were 
sometimes  eager  to  leave  a place  when  they 
owed  money  to  poor  people  who  could  not 
afford  to  sue  them  for  a debt  at  a distance. 
St.  Gregory,  on  the  other  hand,  liked  to  keep 
the  same  farmers  on  the  same  land  as  long  as 
possible.  He  was  in  favour  of  long  leases,  and 
usually  granted  them  for  a term  of  three 
specified  lives. 

“ We  learn  that  when  farmers  die  their 
relatives  are  not  allowed  to  inherit,  and  the  land 
reverts  to  the  Church.  We  hereby  decree  that 
the  next-of-kin  shall  succeed  as  heir,  and  that 
the  property  of  the  deceased  man  is  to  remain 
intact.  Should  very  young  children  inherit, 
discreet  persons  shall  manage  the  estate  until 
they  are  of  age  to  look  after  their  own  affairs.” 

He  granted  farming  leases  grudgingly,  and 
only  under  severe  restrictions.  He  always 
preferred  that  the  peasants  and  slaves  should 
work  the  Church  lands  directly  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Church.  Occasionally,  if  the  business 
entailed  was  not  too  engrossing,  the  manage- 
ment of  a patrimony  was  entrusted  to  the  local 
bishop.  More  usually  a special  rector  was 


AN  ABSENTEE  LANDLORD  187 


appointed  with  or  without  defensors  working 
under  him.  Sometimes  a defensor  had  entire 
charge  of  an  isolated  estate,  and  reported 
directly  to  the  Holy  See. 

St.  Gregory's  rectors  and  defensors  were 
priests  or  at  least  clerks  in  holy  orders,  well 
tried  and  proved  trustworthy.  " Peter  the 
Sub-deacon,"  rector  of  the  Sicilian  patrimony, 
is  said  to  have  been  the  Peter  of  the  Dialogues , 
his  own  “ bosom  friend  from  early  youth."  On 
their  appointment  these  officials  had  to  swear 
before  the  Tomb  of  St.  Peter  that  they  would 
promote  the  interests  of  the  Church  as  " the 
treasury  of  the  labourers  and  of  the  poor." 

"You  must  carry  out  justly  and  vigorously 
whatever  commands  you  receive  from  us  for  the 
welfare  of  the  poor,"  writes  the  Pope  to  the 
defensor  Vitus.  “ Do  faithfully  whatever  work 
we  may  give  you  to  do.  Know  that  you  will 
have  to  give  an  account  of  all  your  actions  at 
the  Judgment  Seat  of  God." 

In  a circular  introducing  a new  defensor  to 
his  district,  St.  Gregory  writes  : " We  order 
you  to  obey  without  hesitation  whatever  he 
shall  command  for  the  benefit  of  the  Church. 
He  has  full  power  to  punish  severely  the 
disobedient  and  the  contumacious.  We  have 
ordered  him  to  enforce  ecclesiastical  law,  when- 
ever slaves  abscond  or  boundary  marks  are 


188  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


removed.  He  has  been  ordered  not  to  seize 
anything  by  force  under  any  pretext.” 

It  sometimes  happened,  even  on  Church  lands, 
that  unfaithful  agents  took  advantage  of  their 
position  to  get  unduly  rich.  " I have  learned,” 
he  wrote  to  the  Bishop  of  Cagliari,  “ that  certain 
laymen,  charged  with  the  administration  of 
your  patrimony,  have  acted  to  the  detriment  of 
your  peasants  and  refuse  to  render  an  account. 
It  behoves  you  to  examine  into  this  with  the 
utmost  diligence,  to  decide  according  to  the 
justice  of  the  case,  and  to  make  these  men,  if 
guilty,  disgorge  their  prey.” 

He  was  not  less  rigorous  when  his  own  agents 
were  in  fault.  “ It  has  come  to  our  knowledge,” 
he  wrote  to  Peter  the  Sub-deacon,  “ that  for 
the  past  ten  years — from  the  time  of  Antonius 
the  defensor  until  now — many  persons  complain 
of  unjust  treatment.  Their  lands  have  been 
forcibly  occupied,  their  goods  seized,  their  slaves 
enticed  away,  all  this  without  pretence  of  legal 
warrant.  Inquire  diligently  into  all  these 
things,  and  if  you  find  aught  unjustly  detained 
by  the  Church,  restore  it  at  once  to  the  proper 
owner,  lest  he  be  compelled  to  come  to  me. 
The  long  journey  would  inconvenience  him 
greatly,  and  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  decide 
whether  or  not  he  speaks  truth.” 

And  again  : “ When  Your  Experience  employs 


AN  ABSENTEE  LANDLORD  189 


your  tenants  for  any  work  they  are  not  bound 
to  perform,  we  wish  them  to  be  well  paid  for 
their  services,  lest  the  purse  of  the  Church  be 
defiled  by  ill-gotten  gains.  When  we  order  you 
to  purchase  for  our  store-houses  in  Rome,  we 
mean  you  to  buy  from  strangers,  not  to  take 
more  than  is  customary  from  the  tenants  of 
the  Church/' 

When  the  rent  was  paid  in  corn,  a trifle  extra 
might  be  exacted  to  feed  the  sailors  on  the 
journey.  But  the  peasants  were  not  expected 
to  make  good  any  damage  due  to  accident. 
And  those  who  preferred  to  pay  in  money  were 
to  have  their  rent  assessed  at  the  current  price 
of  corn  for  the  year,  so  that  all  alike  might 
benefit,  when  the  harvest  was  good  and  bread 
was  cheap. 

In  Sicily  he  found  that  the  farmers  claimed 
one  bushel  out  of  twenty,  instead  of  one  out  of 
twenty-five.  False  measures,  too,  were  used  so 
that  the  peasants  paid  twenty-five  bushels 
instead  of  sixteen. 

“ We  are  glad  you  have  broken  the  fraudulent 
measure,"  he  writes  to  Peter.  “ But  how  about 
the  injustice  in  the  past  ? Have  we  not  reason 
to  fear  lest  the  farmers'  ill-gotten  gains  be 
attributed  to  us  as  sinful  negligence.  We  wish 
Your  Experience  to  make  a list  of  the  very 
poor  peasants  on  each  estate,  and  to  distribute 


190  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


to  each,  according  to  his  degree  of  poverty,  the 
cows,  the  sheep  and  the  swine  which  you  will 
buy  with  the  money  wrongfully  acquired/' 

Farms  held  unjustly  must  be  restored  at  once 
to  the  lawful  owners.  “ Attend  to  this,  for  I 
am  never  weary  reminding  you  of  it,  and  if  you 
neglect  it,  you  shall  have  my  voice  against  you 
at  the  Judgment  Seat  of  God.  On  the  other 
hand,  should  you  see  some  property  which  you 
think  belongs  to  the  Church,  be  careful  not  to 
vindicate  our  claim  by  violence.  Otherwise  our 
unrighteous  action  in  a righteous  cause  will  make 
our  just  claim  seem  unjust  in  the  eyes  of 
Almighty  God." 

In  the  same  chatty  letter  Peter  is  instructed 
to  give  one  hundred  gold  pieces  to  Eusebius  the 
abbot,  and  six  to  Anastasia,  a nun  at  Palermo. 
Sisinnius,  who  was  once  a judge  and  is  now  in 
great  want,  is  to  have  twenty  vessels  of  wine 
and  four  shillings  every  year.  Redemptor's 
wife  has  bequeathed  a silver  salver  to  a 
monastery,  and  ordered  a silver  shell  to  be 
sold  for  the  benefit  of  her  freedmen. 

“ See  that  her  wishes  be  carried  out,  lest  a 
mere  trifle  make  us  liable  for  great  sins.  The 
money  due  to  us  from  the  will  of  Antoninus 
should  long  ago  have  been  paid,  as  we  ordered, 
to  monasteries  and  elsewhere.  I know  not  why 
Your  Negligence  has  delayed  so  long." 


AN  ABSENTEE  LANDLORD  191 


Again  and  again  he  warns  his  business  men 
not  to  press  the  letter  of  the  law,  when  it  is  a 
case  of  merciful  assistance  to  the  orphaned  and 
the  very  poor. 

“ If  with  compassion  and  kindness  we  help 
our  neighbour  in  his  distress,  undoubtedly  we 
shall  find  Our  Lord  merciful  to  us  when  we 
Pray  ” 

“ In  questions  admitting  of  doubt  it  is  better 
to  incline  to  mercy  rather  than  to  justice ; 
especially  when,  by  the  surrender  of  a small 
thing,  the  Church  will  not  greatly  suffer,  and 
on  the  other  hand  the  poor  and  the  orphan  will 
be  greatly  relieved." 

“ Take  care  lest  Almighty  God  condemn  our 
just  claims  if  unjustly  pursued.  You  will  be  a 
faithful  steward  of  the  Apostle,  Blessed  Peter, 
if  you  act  uprightly  in  the  management  of  his 
estates,  even  though  his  temporal  gains  are 
lessened  thereby." 

Appeals  from  the  poor  always  received  his 
careful  attention.  One,  Adeodatus,  went  in 
person  to  the  Pope,  petitioning  to  have  remitted 
one  of  the  two  shillings  he  had  to  pay  every 
year  for  a building  he  had  put  up  on  land 
" belonging  to  the  Church."  St.  Gregory  sent 
him  home  with  a letter  to  his  agent  : 

“ Your  Experience  will  look  into  this,  and  if 
his  story  be  found  correct  see  that  he  obtains 


192  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


what  he  asks.  His  age  and  his  poverty  entitle 
him  to  this  abatement/' 

Another  time  it  was  one,  Alexander,  who 
lodged  a complaint  against  “ our  beloved  son, 
Cyprian  the  deacon."  He  had  not  received 
proper  wages,  he  said,  during  the  three  years 
when  he  worked  at  the  building  of  a church  in 
Catania.  “ We  order  you  diligently  to  inquire 
into  the  matter.  See  that  the  just  amount  be 
paid  to  him,  and  put  it  down  in  your  accounts." 

Again  it  was  Cosmas,  a Syrian,  who  convinced 
the  Pope  “ by  witnesses  and  by  his  own  tears," 
that  he  owed  a hundred  and  fifty  shillings,  and 
had  reason  to  hope  his  creditors  would  be 
satisfied  with  eighty.  Though  he  considered 
eighty  solidi  too  much  to  expect  from  a man 
who  had  nothing,  St.  Gregory  sent  his  agent 
sixty,  and  a order  to  make  terms  with  the 
creditors.  " They  ought  to  be  satisfied  with 
less,"  he  argued,  “ if  they  are  skilfully  spoken 
with  ; for  they  have  seized  the  man's  child, 
and  the  law  gives  them  no  right  to  do  that. 
Take  special  care,  when  they  receive  the  money, 
that  they  give  a full  discharge  in  writing. 
Whatever  may  be  over  out  of  the  sixty  shillings 
give  to  Cosmas  for  the  support  of  himself  and 
his  son.  Afterwards  strive  to  make  him  work 
off  the  debt  by  labour." 

Peter,  when  summoned  to  Rome  with  his 


AN  ABSENTEE  LANDLORD 


193 


account  books,  is  instructed  to  leave  a com- 
petent person  in  Sicily,  whom  he  must  admonish 
to  deal  gently  with  the  peasants. 

“ Send  your  customary  gifts  to  the  praetors 
by  his  hand,  so  that  you  may  win  their  favour 
for  him.  If  the  recruiting  officers  come  round 
while  you  are  away,  he  is  to  secure  their  good- 
will by  a small  present.” 

The  burdatio , the  emperor's  tax  on  land,  was 
collected  three  times  a year,  in  January,  May 
and  September.  The  first  of  these  payments 
grievously  inconvenienced  the  peasants,  because 
it  was  made  before  they  were  able  to  sell  their 
produce.  They  were  compelled  to  borrow,  and 
the  public  money-lenders  charged  heavy  interest, 
sometimes  as  much  as  twenty-five  per  cent. 
And  so  Gregory  orders  Peter  to  advance  the 
money  to  the  peasants,  a little  at  a time  as  they 
require  it,  so  that  they  may  not  afterwards  be 
forced  to  sell  their  crops  at  a ruinously  low 
price.  But  he  makes  it  clear  that  such  loans 
are  solely  to  benefit  the  borrower.  Interest, 
however  nominal,  is  not  to  be  charged. 

It  seems  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  cruelty 
of  officials  at  this  date  when  " the  Roman 
Republic  was  at  the  last  gasp,  strangled  by 
taxation  like  a traveller  in  the  grip  of  brigands.” 
Appeal  to  the  emperor  was  useless.  Avarice 

was  Maurice's  besetting  sin,  and  he  cared  little 
0 


194  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


how  his  treasury  was  filled  so  long  as  it  was 
full.  The  weight  of  taxation  pressed  heavier  on 
Italy  as  more  and  more  of  the  land  was  wrested 
from  the  empire,  and  thus  the  area  dwindled 
over  which  the  tax-gatherers  remorselessly 
wrung  their  dues.  So  disgusted  were  the 
peasants  with  a life  of  toil,  the  fruits  whereof 
they  might  never  hope  to  enjoy,  that  they  fled 
to  the  woods,  to  be  hunted  there  like  wild 
beasts,  or  they  surrendered  to  the  Lombards. 
Thraldom  as  captives  of  war  was  a fate  preferable 
to  citizenship,  where  free  men  were  put  to 
torture  and  their  children  sold  as  slaves. 

A landowner  in  those  days  had  great  powers 
over  his  tenantry.  His  permission  was  required 
when  a peasant  wished  to  remove  from  his 
estate,  or  to  marry  outside  it,  or  to  give  away 
or  mortgage  his  movables,  for  these  were  looked 
upon  as  a security  for  the  rent.  The  punish- 
ment of  defaulters  was  also  at  his  discretion. 
He  might  scourge  or  levy  fines  as  he  chose. 

St.  Gregory,  however,  had  no  intention  of 
making  the  innocent  suffer  with  the  guilty. 
When  a peasant  on  his  estates  was  in  fault,  he 
wished  him  to  be  punished  in  person  rather 
than  in  goods,  unless  of  his  own  free  will  the 
culprit  chose  to  placate  with  a small  sum  of 
money  the  officer  charged  to  chastise  him. 
The  marriage  fees  might  never  exceed  a shilling 


AN  ABSENTEE  LANDLORD  195 


— the  very  poor  ought  not  to  pay  even  that, 
he  decreed — and  these  fees  were  not  to  be 
entered  in  the  Pope’s  accounts  at  all.  They 
were  to  go  to  the  farmers  whose  interest  it  was 
to  see  that  labourers  immediately  under  them 
were  happily  circumstanced. 

Given  a conscientious  master  the  slaves  had 
an  easier  life  than  the  coloni  or  free-born 
peasants.  Sick  or  well,  slaves  were  sure  of  their 
daily  food,  their  lodging  and  their  raiment. 
They  had  neither  rent  nor  taxes  to  make  them 
anxious.  They  could  not  be  conscripted  as 
soldiers.  And  now  that  Christianity  had 
leavened  Roman  civilisation  and  softened  its 
brutality,  public  opinion  was  against  the  master 
who  acted  harshly  towards  his  slaves. 

In  the  Roman  law,  even  in  the  Christianized 
code  as  revised  by  Justinian,  slaves  had  no 
civic  rights.  Unlike  the  coloni  they  could  not 
appeal  before  the  magistrates  against  oppres- 
sion. But  in  every  district  there  was  at  least 
one  Church  always  open,  where  runaway  slaves 
and  fugitives  from  man's  injustice  might  bide 
in  safety,  until  the  bishop  could  grant  them  a 
fair  hearing. 

St.  Gregory  was  scrupulously  particular  that 
this  privilege  of  sanctuary  should  never  be 
abused.  He  had  sometimes  to  point  out  in  his 
letters  that  it  was  not  intended  to  shield  the 


196  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


guilty,  but  only  to  guarantee  just  treatment, 
and  that  the  ecclesiastical  courts  must  not 
inconvenience  the  masters  and  the  magistrates 
by  undue  delays. 

Sometimes  these  fugitives  claimed  to  belong  to 
the  Church,  and  there  were  rectors  who  admitted 
the  claim  before  it  could  be  legally  proved. 

“ This  displeases  me  much,”  wrote  St. 
Gregory,  " because  it  is  unjust.  If  there  be  any 
slaves  working  for  the  patrimony  under  these 
doubtful  conditions,  see  that  they  be  restored 
at  once.  Afterwards  if  Holy  Church  can 
establish  her  claim,  they  may  be  taken  from 
their  masters  by  a regular  action  at  law.” 

A slave  had  family  rights.  We  find  St. 
Gregory  ordering  the  Bishop  of  Syracuse  to 
punish  a man  who  sold  a bondwoman  without 
her  husband’s  consent.  “ Moreover,  reprove 
sharply  the  Bishop  of  Messina  for  his  neglect  to 
punish  the  officials  who  were  guilty  of  such 
disgraceful  deeds.  Tell  him  that  if  another 
story  like  this  comes  to  me  concerning  any  of 
his  dependents,  I will  take  action,  not  against 
the  man  in  fault  but  against  himself.” 

By  a decree  of  Justinian,  no  master  might 
stand  in  the  way  if  a slave  wished  to  enter 
religion,  even  though  his  purchase-money  were 
not  forthcoming.  St.  Gregory  learned  that  one 
of  his  defensors  in  the  Campagna  owned  a 


AN  ABSENTEE  LANDLORD 


T97 


slave-girl  who  sought  “ with  tears  and 
vehemence  " to  become  a nun. 

“ Go  to  Felix  the  defensor/'  he  wrote  to 
Felix's  rector,  “ demand  of  him  the  soul  of  this 
girl.  Pay  him  the  price  he  asks  and  send  her 
here,  under  the  charge  of  competent  persons 
who  will  place  her  in  a convent.  Do  it  quickly, 
lest  delay  endanger  this  soul." 

Slaves  were  only  too  willing  to  enter  religion. 
" Our  holy  army  fills  up  its  gaps  with  bondmen 
who  come  to  seek  freedom  in  Christ,"  wrote 
St.  Isidore  of  Seville,  younger  brother  of  St. 
Leander.  “ And  it  would  be  a serious  fault 
not  to  admit  them,  since  God  has  made  no 
difference  between  the  soul  of  a slave  and  the 
soul  of  a prince." 

Of  such  religious  recruits  St.  Augustine  of 
Hippo  had  written  two  centuries  before  : “ They 
have  passed  an  apprenticeship  rude  enough  to 
make  them  apt  in  their  new  condition.  But  it 
is  not  right  that  they  should  live  in  idleness 
when  senators  are  glad  to  labour,  nor  that  they 
should  prove  fastidious  when  the  lords  of  vast 
possessions  come  to  sacrifice  their  wealth." 

To  secure  purity  in  motive  St.  Gregory 
decreed,  in  the  synod  of  595,  that  a slave- 
postulant,  who  stood  the  test  of  a long  and 
severe  probation,  was  to  be  emancipated  before 
profession,  “ so  that  as  a free  man  he  might 


198  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


exchange  servitude  under  an  earthly  master  for 
a still  more  strenuous  servitude  in  the  family 
of  Jesus  Christ/ * He  speaks  of  slaves  as  his 
fellow-servants  in  the  letters  of  manumission 
declaring  Thomas  and  Montana  free  and  Roman 
citizens,  “ with  a right  to  any  money  they  have 
saved  while  servants  of  the  Roman  Church/' 
He  states  the  motive  for  this  act  of  piety  : 

“ Our  Redeemer,  the  Maker  of  every  creature, 
mercifully  assumed  our  human  flesh  to  break 
the  bonds  of  slavery  in  which  the  devil  held  us, 
and  by  the  grace  of  His  Godhead  He  gave  us 
back  our  liberty.  And  thus  it  is  a wholesome 
deed  to  restore  the  liberty  in  which  they  were 
bom  to  men  whom  Nature  in  the  beginning 
brought  forth  free,  and  whom  the  law  of  nations 
has  subjected  to  the  yoke  of  slavery." 

In  St.  Gregory’s  letters  there  are  many 
allusions  to  the  captives  held  to  ransom  in  the 
Lombard  wars.  He  spent  large  sums  himself 
to  procure  their  freedom.  He  was  grateful 
when  wealthy  friends  in  Constantinople  sent 
him  money  for  this  purpose.  He  authorized 
bishops — nay,  he  commanded  them — to  sell  the 
sacred  vessels  of  the  sanctuary,  only  stipulating 
that  the  sale  and  the  ransom  must  take  place 
in  the  presence  of  the  papal  agent.  After  a 
terrible  raid  in  the  Campagna  he  writes  to  his 
rector  there,  Anthemius  : 


AN  ABSENTEE  LANDLORD 


199 


“ You  may  estimate  the  grief  in  our  heart  by 
the  greatness  of  the  calamity.  The  magnificent 
Stephen,  bearer  of  this  letter,  brings  you  money 
for  the  ransom  of  such  free  men  as  you  know 
cannot  buy  their  own  freedom.  Do  not  hesitate 
to  spend  it  on  slaves  whose  masters  are  too  poor 
to  redeem  them.  If  any  slaves  have  been  taken 
from  the  Church  lands,  we  blame  your  negligence. 
Write  down,  and  bring  it  with  you  when  you 
come  to  us,  an  exact  account  of  those  whom 
you  ransom  ; their  names,  where  they  live, 
what  they  do.  If  any  captive  incurs  danger 
through  your  negligence,  we  shall  deal  with  you 
severely.” 

We  find  him  writing  to  two  men  whom  he 
thus  restored  to  freedom.  “ Neither  you  nor 
your  heirs  shall  at  any  time  suffer  the  burden 
of  repayment/' 

Jews  might  own  land  in  Italy  and  form 
contracts  with  peasants  for  its  cultivation. 
But  the  Roman  law  forbade  Jews  to  own 
Christian  slaves.  The  slaves  of  Jews  who  fled 
to  sanctuary  and  asked  for  baptism  might  on 
no  account  be  restored  to  their  masters. 

Things  were  otherwise  in  France.  “ We  are 
amazed,"  wrote  St.  Gregory  to  Queen  Brunehaut. 
“ we  are  amazed  that  in  your  kingdom  Jews  are 
allowed  to  own  Christian  slaves.  For  what  are 
Christians  but  members  of  Christ  ? We  know 


200  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


well  that  you  faithfully  reverence  Christ.  How 
is  it  then  that  you  allow  His  members  to  remain 
in  the  power  of  His  enemies  ? ” 

Jewish  traders  were  not  forbidden  to  traffic 
in  slaves.  But  no  Jew  might  keep  a Christian 
in  his  market  beyond  forty  days,  or  a slave 
wishful  to  become  a Christian  beyond  the  space 
of  three  months.  If  the  sale  was  unduly  delayed 
in  either  case,  the  slave  recovered  his  liberty. 
When  Narses,  “ that  most  wicked  Jew,”  bought 
Christian  slaves  and  employed  them  for  his 
own  advantage  on  his  estates  in  Sicily,  St. 
Gregory  wrote  at  once  to  notify  the  governor 
of  the  island  : 

“ Strictly  and  at  once,  Your  Glory  will  inquire 
into  this,  and  give  the  Christians  their  liberty, 
lest  religion  be  dishonoured  while  they  are 
subject  to  the  Jew.”  For  Narses  was  " liable 
to  stripes  ” on  other  counts.  He  had  set  up  an 
altar  to  Blessed  Elias,  and  " impiously  induced  ” 
Christians  to  worship  there. 

There  were  many  Jews  in  Sicily  settled  on 
the  Church  lands.  Peter  the  Sub-deacon  is 
instructed  to  send  circular  letters  to  “ the  Jews 
on  the  patrimony  who  obstinately  refuse  to  be 
converted,”  promising  to  reduce  their  rents  by 
one-third  if  they  become  Christians.  “ For 
even  if  they  themselves  come  into  the  Church 
with  little  faith,  there  will  certainly  be  more 


AN  ABSENTEE  LANDLORD  201 


faith  in  their  children  who  will  thus  be  baptized 
and  growr  up  Christians.”  This  circular  brought 
many  Jews  under  instruction,  and  Gregory 
provided,  at  his  own  cost,  baptismal  robes  for 
the  poorer  among  them. 

The  Jews  had  settlements  all  over  Christen- 
dom. In  Africa  they  had  all  the  slave-trade  in 
their  hands,  at  Alexandria  all  the  commerce,  in 
Spain  all  the  agriculture.  In  Gaul  their  wealth 
was  at  the  mercy  (or  caprice  !)  of  king  or  local 
tyrant,  and  sometimes  they  had  to  choose 
between  baptism  and  exile.  By  the  laws  of  the 
empire  they  were  cruelly  taxed,  excluded  from 
civil  or  military  dignities,  forbidden  to  inter- 
marry with  Christians  or  to  own  Christian 
slaves.  Their  witness  was  not  accepted  in  the 
law  courts.  In  Italy  the  Jews  were  heartily 
disliked.  In  Spain  the  laws  of  Reccared  outdid 
in  harshness  the  Justinian  code. 

The  Pope  alone  steadily  set  his  face  against 
proselytism  by  force.  In  every  land  the  Jews 
unjustly  treated  appealed  to  Rome. 

If  their  complaint  was  reasonable  they  were 
sure  to  find  redress  at  his  hands.  His  letters 
are  always  on  the  side  of  leniency  and  fair 
dealing.  He  writes  to  the  Bishop  of  Arles  : 

“We  hear  from  several  Jews,  who  live  in  this 
province  but  travel  from  time  to  time  to 
Marseilles,  that  many  Jews,  settled  in  those 


202  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


parts,  are  brought  to  the  baptismal  font  rot  so 
much  by  preaching  as  by  force.  Your  intention, 
my  dear  brother,  I believe  to  be  praiseworthy, 
but  I very  much  fear  that  the  act  will  bring  you 
no  rewTard  hereafter,  and  will  indeed  lead  to  the 
loss  of  the  very  souls  you  wish  to  save.  I beg 
of  Your  Fraternity,  therefore,  to  preach 
frequently  to  these  persons,  with  such  words  as 
may  burn  away  the  thorns  of  error  and  enlighten 
the  darkness  of  their  minds,  and  with  such 
sweetness  and  kindness  as  may  soften  their 
hearts  and  induce  them,  of  their  own  accord, 
to  change  their  life/' 

In  the  same  spirit  he  exhorts  the  Bishop  of 
Terracina  : “ It  would  be  better  for  the  Jews 
to  come  with  kindly  feelings  to  hear  you  preach 
the  Word  of  God  than  that  they  should  have 
cause  to  tremble  at  your  inordinate  severity.' ' 

The  Jews  at  Terracina  complained  that  the 
bishop  had  turned  them  out  of  their  synagogue, 
because  their  singing  could  be  heard  in  the 
church  next  door.  “ Build  them  another 
synagogue  within  the  city,"  was  Gregory's 
command.  " We  will  not  have  the  Hebrews 
oppressed  and  afflicted  unreasonably.  Let  no 
man  hinder  them  from  managing  their  own 
affairs  as  they  think  best ; for  the  Roman  Law 
most  justly  grants  them  liberty  of  action." 

He  wrote  in  the  same  sense  to  the  Bishop  of 


AN  ABSENTEE  LANDLORD  203 


Naples  : “ Those  who  wish  to  restrain  the  Jews 
from  practising  their  religion  are  clearly  working 
for  their  own  ends,  not  for  God.  Do  not  in 
future  allow  the  Jews  to  be  molested  in  the 
performance  of  their  rites.  Let  them  have  full 
freedom  to  observe  their  festivals  and  holy  days, 
as  both  they  and  their  fathers  have  done  for 
so  long.” 

When  the  Bishop  of  Palmero  seized  a 
synagogue  and  consecrated  it  to  Christian 
worship,  the  Pope  insisted  that  all  the  furniture 
should  be  restored  to  the  Jews,  and  the  value 
of  the  building  paid  to  them  in  full. 

From  Sardinia  came  the  tale  one  Eastertide 
how  the  newly  converted  Peter  had  broken  into 
the  synagogue  on  the  morrow  of  his  baptism, 
and  rendered  it  unclean  in  Jewish  eyes  by 
placing  there  a cross,  a picture  of  the  Mother 
of  God,  and  the  white  robe  that  had  been 
given  him  at  the  font.  Gregory  wrote  at  once 
to  the  Bishop  Januarius  : 

“ We  charge  you  to  remove  from  the 
synagogue  the  picture  and  the  cross.  The  laws 
forbid  the  Jews  to  set  up  new  synagogues,  but 
they  allow  them  to  keep  the  old  ones  undis- 
turbed. . . . Let  Your  Holiness  then,  with  the 
aid  of  those  who,  like  yourself,  condemn  Peter's 
violence,  endeavour  to  make  peace  between  the 
Jewrs  and  the  Christians  in  your  city.  Especially 


204  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


at  this  time,  when  there  is  every  fear  of  a raid 
by  the  Lombards,  you  ought  not  to  have  a 
divided  people.” 

Thus  did  St.  Gregory  make  himself  all  things 
to  all  men,  and  in  big  things  and  in  little,  deal 
fairly  with  every  one.  Thus  did  he  show 
himself  consistently  a true  Christian  and  a 
sound  theologian,  a statesman  moreover,  with 
a thorough  grasp  of  the  principle  that  the 
strength  of  a state  depends  upon  union  among 
its  citizens,  and  that  this  union  can  only  exist 
when  even-handed  justice  is  meted  out  to 
everyone.  He  portrays  himself,  of  course 
unconsciously,  in  the  instruction  he  issues  to 
that  most  intimately  trusted  of  all  his  business- 
men, Peter  the  Sub-deacon,  Rector  of  the 
Sicilian  Patrimony. 

“ I trust  that  the  glorious  praetor  and  all  the 
noble  laymen  will  love  you  for  your  humility 
and  not  detest  you  for  your  pride.  Yet  if  by 
any  chance  you  learn  that  they  deal  unjustly 
with  the  poor,  at  once  exchange  your  humility 
for  firmness.  Be  their  servants  when  they  act 
aright,  oppose  them  boldly  when  they  act  amiss. 
Yet  show  no  weakness  when  you  yield,  nor  give 
them  cause  to  blame  you  as  austere  and  un- 
bending when  you  exercise  power.  In  a word, 
let  justice  always  season  your  humility,  and 
humility  always  render  your  justice  acceptable.” 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  THINGS  THAT  ARE  CAESARS. 

LITTLE  did  St.  Gregory  dream,  as  he 
pored  over  his  account  books  and 
prayed  over  his  letters,  that  he  was 
laying  very  solidly  the  foundations  of  that 
Temporal  Power  of  the  Holy  See  which  was  to 
outlast  a thousand  years,  from  the  reign  of 
Charlemagne  to  the  reign  of  Pius  IX. 

He  was  himself,  in  a very  real  sense,  the 
master  at  Rome  ; providing  supplies,  organising 
defence,  exacting  obedience  from  officials, 
military  and  civil,  his  words  and  his  wishes 
having  weight  with  kings  and  queens.  But 
both  in  the  city  and  in  every  portion  of  the 
Patrimony  of  St.  Peter  he  had  to  preach  and 
to  practise  submission  to  the  secular  power. 
The  Pope  still  owed  allegiance  to  his  sovereign 
at  Constantinople,  even  though  Maurice's 
inability  to  protect  his  Italian  subjects  often 
forced  Gregory  to  act  independently  in  their 
defence. 

He  was  always  extremely  careful  to  avoid 
collision  with  the  emperor's  officers,  or  to 
interfere  with  them  in  the  discharge  of  their 


2o6  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


duties.  But  he  would  not  wink  at  wrong- 
doing, however  high  in  rank  the  offender. 
" The  Lombards,”  he  wrote,  " can  only  kill  our 
bodies,  while  the  rapine  and  fraud  of  the 
imperial  judges  devour  our  souls.” 

Especially  in  the  islands,  because  they  were 
less  in  touch  with  Ravenna,  the  administration 
was  hopelessly  corrupt.  Those  whose  duty  it 
was  to  enforce  the  law  did  not  always  make  a 
decent  pretext  to  conceal  their  malpractices. 

In  590  Gregory  wrote  a strong  protest  to 
the  Duke  of  Sardinia,  then  to  the  exarch  of 
Africa,  the  duke's  immediate  superior.  Both 
letters  were  ignored.  Next  he  instructed  his 
apocrisarius  to  lay  the  case  before  the  emperor. 
Finally  he  urged  the  empress,  Constantia,  to 
use  her  influence  with  her  husband  on  behalf 
of  the  oppressed  islanders. 

“ Since  I know,”  he  begins  his  letter,  " that 
our  Most  Serene  Lady  turns  her  thoughts  to 
the  heavenly  kingdom  and  to  the  life  of  her 
soul,  I feel  strongly  that  I should  be  guilty  of 
grievous  sin  if  I were  silent  when  the  Fear  of 
God  impels  me  to  address  her.” 

In  Sardinia,  he  goes  on,  the  governor 
sells  to  the  pagans  a licence  to  worship 
idols,  and  continues  to  collect  this  money  from 
those  who  have  been  baptized.  In  Corsica  the 
taxes  are  so  heavy  and  so  cruelly  extort edf 


THINGS  THAT  ARE  C^SARS  207 


that  the  people  have  to  sell  their  sons  into 
slavery. 

" Hence  it  comes  to  pass  that  those  who 
own  estates  in  the  island  forsake  the  empire  and 
pass  over  to  the  Lombards.  For  what  outrage 
more  cruel  can  the  barbarians  inflict  on 
them  ? ” 

He  complains,  too,  of  the  high-handedness  of 
one  Stephen,  in  Sicily.  “ His  evil  deeds  would 
fill  a volume.” 

“ I beg  our  Most  Serene  Lady  to  investigate 
prudently  these  facts,  and  to  still  the  groans  of 
the  oppressed.  Had  these  evil  doings  come  to 
your  ears,  they  would  long  ago  have  been 
mentioned  at  a fitting  moment  to  our  Most 
Pious  Lord,  so  that  he  might  remove  this  great 
burden  of  sin  from  his  soul,  from  his  empire, 
and  from  his  children.  He  may  say  indeed  that 
all  the  money  collected  in  these  islands  has  been 
sent  back  to  us  for  Italian  expenses.  It  might 
be  suggested  to  him  to  spend  less  in  Italy,  and 
to  free  his  empire  from  the  groans  of  the 
oppressed.  It  is  certainly  better  that  we 
should  suffer  some  temporal  loss  in  these  parts 
than  that  you  should  be  hindered  in  your 
salvation.  Just  think  of  it  ! Parents  sell  their 
children  to  save  themselves  from  torture.  You 
who  have  children  of  your  own  will  soon  find  a 
means  to  remedy  this  state  of  things/' 


208  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Perhaps  in  consequence  of  this  letter  Leontius 
came  from  Constantinople  a little  later  to 
inquire  into  the  state  of  the  Italian  Province. 
On  his  arrival  in  Sicily,  Libertinus,  who  had  held 
supreme  command  there  for  the  last  five  years, 
fled  to  sanctuary,  and  came  out  to  stand  his 
trial  only  when  the  Pope  had  guaranteed  he 
should  have  a fair  hearing.  All  the  papers  on 
this  case  were  sent  on  to  Rome. 

Libertinus  seems  to  have  governed  fairly,  for 
no  one  lodged  complaints  against  him.  He  was 
accused  of  diverting  public  money  to  his  private 
uses  ; but  worthy  men  bore  witness  that  he 
had  spent  more  of  his  own  money  on  the 
emperor's  business  than  he  was  charged  with 
taking  from  the  emperor's  treasury.  Leontius, 
however,  had  him  heavily  fined,  and  scourged 
him  moreover  to  make  him  confess  he  had 
embezzled  the  State  funds. 

St.  Gregory  wrote  a very  strong  letter  to 
Leontius  : “ When  you  scourge  a free  man  you 
sully  your  own  fair  fame,  you  obscure  the  glory 
of  the  Most  Religious  Emperor.  For  there  is 
this  difference  between  the  Roman  emperor  and 
other  monarchs  : he  rules  over  free  men,  they 
rule  over  slaves.  If  you  would  not  yourself  be 
wronged  by  your  superiors,  you  should  respect 
with  jealous  care  the  liberty  of  those  whom  you 
are  appointed  to  judge. 


THINGS  THAT  ARE  GESARS  209 


“ You  will  tell  me  perhaps  that  public  frauds 
cannot  be  detected  without  the  scourge  and 
torture.  Well,  I might  admit  that  plea,  were 
it  not  my  lord  Leontius  who  is  concerned.  For 
those  who  are  too  ready  to  use  brute  force  are 
usually  men  lacking  in  intelligence,  and  without 
language  at  their  command.  But  you  can  offer 
no  such  excuse.  For  God  has  given  you 
wisdom  enough  to  examine  accounts  with 
minute  accuracy.  No  need  of  torture  to  extract 
information. 

" My  Glorious  son,  in  your  present  commis- 
sion, strive  first  of  all  to  please  God,  and  next 
to  secure  with  the  utmost  zeal  the  interests  of 
our  Most  Serene  Lord.  Indeed  I feel  that  when 
he  gives  you  work  to  do,  you  cannot  neglect  it.” 

Libertinus,  notwithstanding,  remained  dis- 
graced. We  find  Gregory  exhorting  him  to 
bear  patiently  his  tribulation  and  to  give  God 
thanks  for  it. 

“ Perhaps,  Magnificent  Son,  you  have  offended 
Him  somewhat  when  you  were  in  power,  and 
He  sends  this  merciful  bitterness  to  cleanse 
your  soul.  ...  I beg  you  not  to  be  offended 
because  we  have  written  to  Romanus,  our 
defensor,  to  provide  thirty  suits  of  clothes  for 
your  household.  Even  so  small  a gift  from  the 
goods  of  the  Blessed  Apostle  Peter  should  be 
accepted  as  a blessing,  in  token  that  he  can 


2io  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


bestow  greater  favours  here  below  and  procure 
for  us  eternal  benefits  from  Almighty  God.” 

It  was  easier  for  St.  Gregory  to  provide  for 
Libertinus  at  his  own  expense  than  to  awaken 
the  emperor’s  conscience  to  a just  considera- 
tion of  his  creditor’s  claims.  As  we  have  seen 
in  a former  chapter,  he  was  at  Constantinople 
when  Maurice  was  crowned  and  wedded,  and 
he  assisted  as  godfather  at  the  christening  of 
his  eldest  son.  Even  thus  early  there  w'ere  signs 
of  miserliness,  of  that  cheese-paring  economy 
in  the  wrong  direction  which  made  Maurice 
unpopular  with  the  soldiers,  and  in  the  end 
brought  about  his  death.  Hence  the  Pope’s 
eagerness  to  encourage  every  spark  of  generous 
feeling  : hence  his  overflow  of  gratitude  when 
on  one  occasion  Maurice  sent  an  alms  to  relieve 
the  poor  at  Rome.  He  is  careful  to  give  details 
as  to  " the  faithful  distribution  of  the  thirty 
pounds  of  gold.  . . . 

“ Whatever  could  be  spared  from  the  relief 
of  the  blind,  the  maimed  and  the  infirm  we  gave 
to  some  religious  women  who  fled  to  the  city 
from  the  provinces  after  captivity.  Thus  not 
only  poor  citizens  but  also  strangers  have 
received  the  bounty  of  my  Lord.”  The  soldiers, 
too,  received  their  arrears  of  pay,  “ and  all, 
under  due  discipline,  received  with  thanks  the 
gift  from  their  emperor,  and  repressed  all 


THINGS  THAT  ARE  GESARS  211 


murmuring  such  as  formerly  used  to  prevail 
among  them/' 

St.  Gregory's  position  was  of  extreme  delicacy. 
On  the  one  hand  Maurice,  like  a God-fearing 
Christian,  recognised  the  Pope  as  his  spiritual 
father,  whose  decision  was  final  in  matters  of 
faith.  On  the  other  hand,  his  tendency  to 
meddle  in  Church  affairs  grew  in  proportion  as 
his  authority  in  temporal  matters  declined. 
He  never  tampered  with  dogma,  however  ; and 
St.  Gregory  only  resisted  his  decisions  in  points 
of  discipline  when  such  decisions  were  manifestly 
unjust,  or,  as  he  tactfully  worded  it,  “ obtained 
by  misrepresentation." 

Thus  when  Maurice  deposed  a bishop  on 
account  of  ill-health,  the  Pope  protested  against 
such  a breach  of  Canon  Law'.  The  bishop,  he 
contended,  should  have  been  asked  to  resign  or 
given  a coadjutor.  But  he  did  not  hinder  the 
edict  from  taking  effect. 

“ Our  Most  Religious  Sovereign  has  power  to 
do  what  he  likes,"  he  wrote  on  this  occasion. 
" He  may  make  what  arrangements  he  deems 
fit.  Only  he  must  not  expect  the  Apostolic 
See  to  help  him  to  carry  them  out.  If  his  action 
accords  with  Canon  Lawr,  we  shall  conform  to  it. 
If  it  does  not,  we  shall  submit  to  it,  so  far  as 
we  can  without  sin." 

Maurice  interfered  but  seldom  in  the  quarrels 


212  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


of  the  clergy.  “ He  has  no  mind  to  burden 
himself  with  our  sins,"  St.  Gregory  once  wrote. 
When  appeals  reached  Constantinople  from  the 
Churches  in  the  African  Province,  they  were 
always  passed  on  to  Rome.  But  the  Pope  had 
no  intention  of  acting  as  the  emperor's  delegate 
in  matters  which  were  entirely  within  his  own 
jurisdiction.  So  he  forwarded  them  in  his  turn 
to  some  bishop  in  Sicily.  Such  roundabout 
appeals  wrere  so  severely  handled  by  Maxim- 
ianus  and  his  colleagues,  that  the  appellants 
had  cause  to  regret  that  they  had  not  dealt 
directly  with  the  Pope,  as  Canon  Law  required. 

Our  saint's  longanimity  was  tried  to  the 
utmost  in  593,  wrhen  Natalis  of  Salona  died  and 
Maximus  was  intruded  into  this,  the  metro- 
politan See  of  Dalmatia.  Maximus  was  an 
ambitious  man,  reported  of  evil  life,  but 
" popular  with  the  palace  and  with  the  people." 
St.  Gregory  excommunicated  the  bishops  who 
consecrated  “ the  presumptuous  intruder,"  in 
defiance  of  his  express  commands.  He 
summoned  Maximus  to  stand  his  trial  at  Rome, 
and  forbade  him  to  act  as  bishop,  or  to  say 
Mass  until  his  character  was  cleared. 

“ If  you  dare  to  disobey,  anathema  to  you 
from  God  and  St.  Peter  ! Your  punishment  will 
serve  as  an  example  to  the  whole  Church." 

But  Maximus  appealed  to  the  emperor,  and 


THINGS  THAT  ARE  C/ESARS  213 


the  Pope  received  an  order  to  overlook  the 
irregularities  in  his  consecration,  and  to  receive 
him  with  the  honours  due  to  the  lawful  metro- 
politan of  Dalmatia. 

St.  Gregory  refused  point  blank.  He  wrote 
to  his  apocrisarius,  Sabinian  : 

'*  I am  ready  to  die,  rather  than  allow  the 
Church  of  Blessed  Peter  to  be  thus  degraded  in 
my  lifetime.  You  know  me.  I endure  for  a 
long  time.  But  once  I have  made  up  my  mind 
to  resist,  I face  e\  nry  danger  with  joy.” 

It  was  the  empress,  however,  and  not  the 
apocrisarius,  whom  he  requested  to  inform  the 
emperor  of  his  refusal. 

“ In  obedience  to  my  Most  Religious  Lord's 
command,  I forgave  Maximus  his  presumption 
in  setting  n^self  at  nought,  as  completely  as 
if  he  had  been  ordained  bishop  by  my  authority. 
But  the  impurity  alleged  against  him,  his 
bribery  of  electors,  his  celebration  of  Holy  Mass 
while  excommunicate,  these  things  I cannot  let 
pass  without  inquiry.  It  is  my  wish  and  my 
prayer  that  he  may  prove  himself  innocent,  and 
that  so  the  matter  may  end  without  danger  to 
my  soul.  But  my  Most  Serene  Sovereign  orders 
me  to  receive  with  honour,  before  judgment  or 
even  inquiry,  a man  accused  of  so  many  crimes. 
If  the  affairs  of  the  bishops  committed  to  my 
care  are  to  be  settled  through  the  influence  of 


214  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


friends  at  the  Court  of  our  Most  Pious  Lords,  * 
woe  is  me  ! Of  what  use  am  I in  the  Church  ? ” 

Maximus  would  not  come  to  Rome.  The 
journey  through  the  Lombard  lands  was  too 
dangerous  for  his  witnesses,  he  declared.  St. 
Gregory  warned  the  Dalmatians  to  hold  aloof 
from  the  clergy  who  upheld  him  in  his  obduracy. 

“ Avoid  altogether  those  whom  the  Apostolic 
See  does  not  receive,  lest  the  very  things  in 
which  you  seek  salvation  be  against  you  at  the 
Judgment  Seat  of  God.” 

The  affair  dragged  on  six  years.  Finally  the 
Archbishops  of  Ravenna  and  Milan  were 
delegated  to  try  the  case.  In  their  presence 
Maximus  purged  himself  publicly,  by  oath,  of 
most  of  the  crimes  imputed  to  him,  and  con- 
fessed his  sin  of  simony.  For  the  space  of  three 
hours  he  lay  prone  upon  his  face  before  the 
bishops,  the  clergy  and  the  exarch,  lifting  his 
head  at  intervals  to  cry  aloud  : 

“ I have  sinned  against  God,  and  against  the 
Most  Blessed  Pope  Gregory.” 

And  Gregory  assured  him  by  letter  of  forgive- 
ness full  and  fatherly.  “ As  soon  as  Your 
Fraternity  knows  that  you  are  restored  to 
communion  with  the  Apostolic  See,  send  some- 
one to  us  who  may  bring  you  back  the  pallium.” 


* Maurice’s  eldest  son  was  also  addressed  as  emperor. 


THINGS  THAT  ARE  CAESARS  215 


It  was  not  often,  however,  that  our  saint  was 
forced  thus  directly  to  refuse  obedience  to  the 
emperor's  command.  Even  when  Maurice 
issued  an  edict  forbidding  soldiers  and  civil 
servants  to  become  monks,  the  Pope  forwarded 
copies  to  the  Italian  bishops,  before  venturing 
on  a respectfully  worded  protest,  which  he 
requested  the  court  physician  to  present 
privately  at  a fitting  moment.  It  is  reasonable, 
he  admits,  that  State  officials  should  not  be 
too  readily  received  as  monks,  unless  the 
monastery  guarantees  to  pay  their  debts.  The 
case  of  soldiers  was  on  another  plane. 

“ This  law  fills  me  with  terror,  for  it  bars  the 
way  to  Heaven  for  many  souls.  Some  men  can 
lead  a good  life  in  the  world  ; others  cannot  be 
saved  unless  they  renounce  all  they  have  to 
follow  Jesus.  I may  not  keep  silence — dust  and 
earthworm  though  I be  in  the  sight  of  my  Most 
Serene  Lords — because  I see  this  decree 
interferes  with  the  rights  of  God,  my  Master 
and  yours,  Who  has  given  you  power  over  men 
so  that  you  may  make  easy  for  them  the  way 
to  Heaven.  A decree  has  gone  forth  that  no 
soldier  may  enlist  in  the  army  of  the  King  of 
kings,  unless  he  is  disabled  or  too  old  to  be 
of  use  in  the  army  of  an  earthly  king.  ..." 

Then  comes  a personal  appeal  to  the  elder 
monarch  : 


216  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


" Thus  does  Christ  speak  to  thee  by  my 
mouth  : ‘ From  a notary,  Maurice,  I have  made 
thee  Captain  of  the  Guard,  from  captain  Caesar  ; 
from  Caesar  Emperor,  yea,  and  father  of 
emperors  yet  to  be.  I have  put  My  priests  in 
thy  power,  and  thou  withdrawest  thy  soldiers 
from  My  service/  Most  Pious  Lord,  what 
answer  shalt  thou  make  Him  Who  in  the  Day 
of  Judgment  will  upbraid  thee  thus  ? I conjure 
thee,  let  not  thy  tears,  thy  fasts,  thy  many 
prayers  avail  thee  nothing  in  the  sight  of  God. 
Annul  or  modify  this  decree.  For  the  army  of 
my  Master  becomes  stronger  against  the  enemy 
when  the  army  of  God  grows  stronger  in  prayer.” 

In  this  case  Maurice  saw  fit  to  compromise. 
St.  Gregory  again  wrote  round  to  the  metro- 
politans, bidding  them  not  to  allow  civil  servants 
to  enter  monasteries  until  their  accounts  were 
audited  and  their  debts  to  the  State  discharged. 
Ex-soldiers — men  " branded  in  the  hand  ” — 
are  to  have,  like  ex-slaves,  three  years'  noviciate 
in  secular  dress.  The  emperor,  he  adds,  will 
not  find  fault  with  this  arrangement. 

In  writing  to  the  emperor  and  indeed  to 
dignitaries  of  every  grade,  St.  Gregory  puncti- 
liously conforms  his  language  to  the  rules  of 
etiquette.  His  correspondents  were  Glorious, 
Illustrious,  Magnificent,  according  to  their  rank, 
just  as  nowadays  we  have  Right  Honourable, 


THINGS  THAT  ARE  GESARS  217 


Most  Noble,  Your  Grace,  and  the  like.  Especially 
in  bis  letters  to  Maurice  we  are  often  reminded 
of  Erasmus’s  sarcasm  on  the  mode  of  addressing 
royalty  in  Renaissance  days.  “ Kings  are 
serene  though  they  turn  the  world  upside 
down  in  a storm  of  war,  invincible  though  they 
fly  from  every  battle-field,  illustrious  though 
they  grovel  in  ignorance  and  vice,  Catholic 
and  Christian  though  they  follow  anything 
but  Christ.” 

The  courteous  phrasing  reads  very  like  irony 
in  St.  Gregory’s  answer  to  “ the  most  serene 
letter,”  in  which  the  emperor  has  treated  him 
as  a fool  and  liar.  He  admits  he  is  a fool 
” even  if  Your  Clemency  did  not  call  me  one,” 
for  who  but  a fool  would  have  wearied  himself 
in  the  emperor’s  interests  and  endured  all  that 
Gregory  has  endured  “ amid  the  swords  of  the 
Lombards.” 

But  the  charge  of  falsehood  he  will  not 
dismiss  thus  lightly.  He  is  a patriot,  and  his 
country  is  dragged  daily  deeper  beneath  the 
Lombard  yoke,  while  the  emperor  prefers  to 
believe  the  men  who  talk  rather  than  the  man 
who  does.  Furthermore,  he  is  a priest. 

“ Although  I am  not  worthy  to  be  called  a 
priest,  I know  that  a priest  is  a servant  of  the 
Truth,  and  that  it  is  a deadly  insult  to  call  a 
priest  a liar.  I plead  to  Your  Clemency,  not 


218  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


for  myself  alone  but  on  behalf  of  all  priests. 
For  I am  a sinful  man.  I sin  daily  and  many 
times  a day,  and  I know  that  the  suffering  you 
cause  me  will  avail  me  at  the  Judgment  Seat 
of  God.  . . . 

" Unworthy  and  sinful  as  I know  myself  to 
be,  I trust  more  in  the  mercy  of  Jesus,  when  He 
comes  to  judge,  than  in  the  justice  of  Your 
Piety.  Perhaps  what  you  praise  He  will  blame, 
and  what  you  blame  He  will  praise.  I can  but 
entreat  Him  with  tears  to  guide  with  His  own 
Hand  our  Most  Clement  Lord  and  to  find  him 
free  from  fault  in  the  dread  day  of  doom/* 

The  hot  letter  which  provoked  this  reply  has 
not  come  down  to  us.  Perhaps  St.  Gregory 
destroyed  it  in  the  last  year  of  his  life,  when 
tidings  reached  him  that  Maurice  had  nobly 
merited  in  death  the  title  “ Most  Religious  ” 
so  often  misapplied  to  him  in  life. 

Things  went  from  bad  to  worse  with  Maurice 
in  the  closing  years  of  his  reign.  He  chose  his 
generals  badly.  He  harassed  his  soldiers  by 
unwise  reforms,  and  whenever  these  reforms 
induced  a mutiny  the  culprits  received  reward 
instead  of  punishment.  His  unpopularity  had 
ebbed  its  lowest  when  the  Avars  marched  on 
Constantinople,  collecting  booty  and  prisoners 
on  their  road  through  Thrace.  Great  sums  of 
money  were  given  them  to  save  the  city,  but 


THINGS  THAT  ARE  CESARS  219 


Maurice  refused  to  pay  the  small  amount  asked, 
over  and  above,  as  ransom  for  the  twelve 
thousand  soldiers  who  were  prisoners  of  war. 
He  argued,  and  perhaps  with  truth,  that  these 
men  were  cowards  and  mostly  deserters. 

But  when  the  Avars  massacred  the  twelve 
thousand  in  cold  blood,  the  anger  of  his  subjects 
equalled  their  contempt  for  his  inability  to 
conduct  the  campaign.  The  army  was  furious, 
and  sent  deputies  to  lay  their  grievances  before 
the  senate.  But  these  deputies  were  treated 
with  scorn ; their  spokesman,  Phocas,  was 
smitten  in  the  face. 

Grim  famine  stalked  throughout  the  land  that 
winter.  The  emperor  was  hooted  and  stoned  as 
he  walked  barefoot  through  the  streets  of  his 
capital  in  the  procession  on  Christmas  Eve. 
The  army  stationed  in  war-worn  Thrace  received 
neither  pay  nor  supplies.  Instead  came  the 
callous  command : " Cross  the  Danube  and 

quarter  yourselves  upon  the  Slavs.” 

There  was  open  mutiny,  of  course,  indeed 
concerted  revolt.  The  army,  Phocas  at  their 
head,  marched  on  Constantinople. 

" Who  is  this  Phocas  ? ” Maurice  is  said  to 
have  asked,  and  they  told  him  Phocas  was  a 
coward. 

“ A coward  ? ” he  repeated  sadly.  " Then  all 
the  more  likely  to  commit  murder  ! ” 


220  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


And  he  spoke  to  his  intimates  of  a dream,  in 
which  he  saw  himself  standing,  one  of  a crowd, 
before  the  great  figure  of  Christ  in  molten  bronze 
above  his  palace  gateway. 

“ Bring  forth  Maurice ! ” came  a terrible 
voice  from  the  statue. 

“ O Lover  of  men  !”  he  found  voice  to  plead, 
“ O Lord  and  Righteous  Judge,  punish  me  here, 
and  noc  in  the  world  to  come.” 

And  the  Divine  Voice  gave  sentence  in  gentler 
tone  that  Maurice  with  his  wife  and  children 
and  all  his  kin  should  be  delivered  into  the 
hands  of  the  soldier  Phocas. 

Deformed  in  body,  sensuous  in  feature,  with 
shaggy,  scowling  eyebrows,  cruel  mouth,  coarse 
red  hair,  and  on  his  cheek  an  ugly  scar  which 
turned  black  during  his  frequent  bursts  of  anger, 
with  neither  charm  of  manner  nor  grace  of 
intellect  to  recommend  him  ; such  was  Phocas 
when  the  Patriarch  Cyriacus  placed  the  crown 
upon  his  head. 

The  citizens  accepted  quietly  the  new  ruler 
whom  the  army  imposed  upon  them.  But  when 
Phocas  took  his  seat  for  the  first  time  in  the 
imperial  box  at  the  Hippodrome,  a mocking 
cry  arose  : 

" Begone  Tyrant  ! Maurice  is  still  alive  ! ” 

That  cry  was  the  death-knell  of  the  dynasty. 
Not  only  did  the  dethroned  emperor  taste  of 


THINGS  THAT  ARE  OESARS  221 


death,  but  his  wife,  his  brother,  his  sons  and 
three  of  his  daughters  shared  his  doom. 

Four  of  his  children  were  butchered  before 
his  eyes.  The  youngest  was  a baby  in  arms, 
and  the  nurse  tried  to  substitute  her  own  child 
in  his  stead.  But  Maurice  rose  superior  to  the 
promptings  of  nature,  and  himself  revealed  the 
heroic  fraud.  A noble  and  pathetic  figure  he 
stood,  erect  and  dry-eyed,  on  that  foggy 
winter's  morning  by  the  seashore. 

“ Thou  art  just,  O Lord,  and  all  Thy 
judgments  righteous  ! " These  wrere  the  only 
words  that  issued  from  his  lips  ; and  these  he 
repeated  over  and  over  again,  while  the  soldiers 
hacked  the  young  princes  into  pieces  and  flung 
quivering  fragments  of  their  flesh  in  his  face. 

He  was  himself  the  last  to  be  killed.  Then 
the  bodies  were  thrown  into  the  sea,  and  the 
beads  exposed  in  Constantinople  to  the  insults 
of  the  mob. 

A letter  of  St.  Gregory's,  dated  two  months 
later,  shows  that  he  then  believed  Maurice  to 
be  alive  " and  his  life  very  necessary  to  the 
world." 

Phocas  was  crowned  on  the  23rd  of  November 
and  Maurice  was  murdered  on  the  27th.  It  was 
not  until  the  25th  of  April  that  news  of  the 
revolution  reached  Rome,  and  then  St.  Gregory 
only  heard  w^hat  Phocas  chose  he  should  hear. 


222  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


For  the  Holy  See  was  unrepresented  at  the 
Court  of  Constantinople — Maurice's  dictatorial 
eccentricities  having  rendered  the  post  of 
Apocrisarius  so  unpleasant  that  not  one  among 
the  Roman  clergy  was  willing  to  undertake  its 
duties.  Besides,  there  were  no  sailings  from  the 
Bosphorus  in  the  winter  months,  and  the  Pope's 
friends  at  Constantinople  would  write  on  things 
indifferent,  if  at  all,  for  their  letters  might  fall 
into  the  hands  of  an  unscrupulous  and  suspicious 
tyrant.  The  overland  post  was  tedious  as  well 
as  risky.  Later  in  the  century  (678  and  686) 
we  find  emperors  writing  to  Popes  who  had  died 
six  months  and  four  months  before. 

Etiquette  required  that  the  Pope  should  send 
suitable  replies  to  the  “ favourable  letters " 
which  the  envoys  brought  him  from  the  newly- 
crowned  emperor  and  empress.  As  might  be 
expected  the  wording  of  these  replies  is  very 
wary.  Gregory  knew  nothing  about  Phocas 
except  that  he  was  lawfully  elected  and  crowned, 
and  very  powerful  for  good  or  ill.  One  short 
sentence  alluded  to  the  “ yoke  of  tribulation  " 
while  Maurice  and  his  deputies  misgoverned. 
One  short  sentence  congratulated  Phocas  on  his 
advent  to  power.  Then  came  a series  of  pious 
hopes  that  all  the  virtues  may  unite  in  Phocas, 
and  the  blessing  of  heaven  gladden  his 
dominions. 


THINGS  THAT  ARE  CiESARS  223 


“ May  the  whole  Commonwealth  rejoice  at 
your  kindly  deeds.  . . . May  all  the  citizens 
enjoy  without  trembling  their  owTn  property 
which  they  have  honestly  acquired.  Under  the 
rule  of  Your  Piety  may  each  one's  liberty  take 
out  a new  lease.  . . . For  there  is  this  difference 
between  the  kings  of  other  nations  and  the 
Emperor  of  the  Roman  Republic  : they  are 
lords  of  slaves,  he  rules  over  free  men.  . . . 
But  we  can  say  all  this  better  in  prayer  to  God, 
than  by  expressing  our  hopes  to  you.  May 
Almighty  God,  in  your  every  thought  and  word, 
hold  the  heart  of  Your  Piety  in  the  Hand  of 
His  Grace." 

Boniface,  afterwards  Pope,  was  at  once 
despatched  to  Constantinople  as  apocrisarius, 
and  St.  Gregory  soon  learned  from  his  letters 
how  deplorably  the  new  emperor  fell  short  of 
his  ideal.  Never  again  did  he  write  directly  to 
Phocas,  never  once  did  he  mention  the  revolu- 
tion in  his  other  letters. 

The  Pope's  prudence  and  the  tact  of  his 
delegate  came  noticeably  into  play  when  a 
certain  bishop  of  Euria  appealed  to  the  emperor 
from  the  decision  of  his  metropolitan,  and 
obtained,  in  consequence,  lands  which  St. 
Gregory  deemed  should  belong  to  the  diocese 
of  Corey ra,  “ according  to  ecclesiastical  justice 
and  canonical  reasoning."  He  could  not  allow 


224  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


the  injustice  to  pass  unrebuked,  so  he  instructed 
Boniface  to  bring  pressure  to  bear  upon  Phocas. 

“ We  foresee  that  our  sentence  will  fail  in 
its  effect  if  we  appear  to  be  acting  contrary  to 
the  commands  of  our  Most  Gracious  Lord  the 
Emperor,  or  in  contempt  of  his  commands, 
which  God  forbid  ! Wherefore,  beloved,  dis- 
creetly insinuate  to  His  Piety,  and  constantly 
reiterate,  that  it  is  altogether  evil,  altogether 
unjust,  and  completely  at  variance  with  the 
sacred  canons,  and  that  therefore  he  should  not 
allow  a sin  of  this  kind  to  be  introduced  into 
the  Church  in  his  time.  . . . Exert  your 
vigilance,  with  the  help  of  Almighty  God,  so 
that  this  shameful  business  may  not  serve  as  a 
precedent.” 

We  know  not  how  the  incident  ended,  but  we 
know  that  Phocas  held  Boniface  in  high  esteem. 
When  the  apocrisarius  in  due  course  became 
Pope,  the  emperor  proclaimed,  on  his  own 
initiative,  that  the  See  of  Rome  was  at  the  head 
of  all  the  Churches. 

To  understand  all  the  importance  of  this 
decree  we  must  have  a clear  notion  of  St. 
Gregory's  famous  controversy  with  John  the 
Faster,  patriarch  of  Constantinople. 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  EMPERORS'  BISHOP. 

THE  Temporal  Power  of  the  Popes  was 
not  yet.  The  spiritual  supremacy  of 
the  Roman  See  was  unquestioningly 
recognised  throughout  the  Christian  world. 

“ When  it  is  a question  of  a fault/'  wrote 
St.  Gregory,  " I know  of  no  bishop  who  is  not 
subject  to  the  Apostolic  See."  In  his  letters, 
“ the  Apostolic  See  is  the  head  of  the  faithful," 
because  its  ruler  “ holds  the  place  of  Peter, 
Prince  of  the  Apostles."  Hence  the  bishop 
who  disobeys  the  Pope  “ is  separated  from 
the  peace  of  Blessed  Peter,"  and  “ no  acts 
of  any  Council  are  of  force  to  bind,  without 
the  consent  and  authority  of  the  Apostolic 
See." 

All  the  Churches  acknowledged  the  claim  and 
found  it  to  their  advantage.  “ I defend  my 
own  rights,"  wrote  St.  Gregory  to  Dominic  of 
Carthage,  “ and  I am  just  as  careful  to  maintain 
the  rights  of  other  bishops."  He  reminded 
Peter  the  Subdeacon,  his  business-man  in  Sicily, 
“ Just  because  all  the  Churches  show  such 
reverence  to  the  Apostolic  See,  it  behoves  us  to 

Q 


226  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


show  solicitude  where  their  interests  are 
concerned/* 

We  have  watched  him  at  work  in  his  own 
episcopal  city.  We  have  noted  his  care  to  leave 
the  bishops  in  his  Western  Patriarchate  a free 
hand  in  the  government  of  their  Churches  ; only 
if  “ the  hungry  flock  looked  up  and  were  not 
fed/*  did  the  Shepherd  of  shepherds  intervene. 
We  have  now  to  consider  him  as  “a  very 
wakeful  shepherd  and  governor  ” to  his  fellow- 
patriarchs  in  the  East. 

Originally  there  were  three  patriarchal  Sees  : 
Jerusalem,  founded  by  St.  James  the  Less  ; 
Alexandria,  St.  Mark’s  diocese  ; Antioch,  where 
St.  Peter  at  one  time  set  up  his  chair.  The 
patriarch  of  Jerusalem  was  the  only  one  without 
bishops  and  metropolitans  under  his  jurisdic- 
tion ; the  others  regulated  matters  of  discipline 
and  adjusted  differences  in  the  provinces  subject 
to  their  sway.  Only  in  questions  of  faith,  or  in 
cases  of  grave  scandal,  did  the  Roman  Pontiff 
come  in  contact  with  the  dioceses  in  the  East. 

But  every  bishop  in  the  Christian  world  had 
the  right  of  appeal  to  the  Holy  See.  Thus  we 
find  St.  Gregory  at  first  sifting  the  case  of 
Adrian,  Bishop  of  Thebes,  and  then  writing 
sternly  to  Adrian’s  primate,  John,  Bishop  of 
Prima  Justiniana  : 

“ We  have  quashed  your  decrees  and  annulled 


THE  EMPEROR'S  BISHOP  227 


your  sentence.  And  now,  by  the  authority  of 
Blessed  Peter,  Prince  of  the  Apostles,  we  forbid 
you  Holy  Communion  for  the  space  of  thirty 
days,  which  we  wish  you  to  spend  in  penance 
and  contrition,  craving  forgiveness  of  God.  If 
we  learn  that  you  are  remiss  in  carrying  out 
our  sentence,  we  shall,  by  the  help  of  the  Lord, 
punish  still  more  severely  not  only  Your 
Fraternity's  injustice  but  also  your  contumacy." 

In  the  early  centuries  Byzantium  was  a 
suffragan  See  in  the  province  of  Heraclea.  It 
only  reached  patriarchal  rank  in  381,  when  the 
Eastern  bishops  met  in  synod  at  Constantinople 
and  anathematized  its  bishop,  Macedonius,  who 
denied  the  divinity  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  A 
curious  occasion,  one  would  think,  for  raising 
the  status  of  the  See  which  he  had  thus  disgraced. 

This  synod  of  Constantinople  ranks  as  the 
third  General  Council  of  the  Church,  solely 
because  its  decision  on  dogma  was  ratified 
later  by  Rome  and  the  West.  Its  regulations 
affecting  local  discipline  have  not  oecumenical 
value. 

The  fifth  General  Council  also,  which  met  at 
Chalcedon  in  451,  consisted  mainly  of  Eastern 
prelates.  But  Pope  St.  Leo  the  Great  sent  his 
legates  to  preside,  and  they  took  precedence  of 
all  present,  as  a matter  of  course.  The  divinely- 
given  primacy  of  St.  Peter  was  acknowledged  in 


228  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


plain  terms,  and  the  title  “ oecumenical  bishop  ” 
suggested,  to  differentiate  the  Pope  from  the 
rest  of  the  hierarchy. 

St.  Leo  refused  the  new  title.  He  formally 
rejected  also  the  28th  Canon  inserted  in  the 
Acts  of  the  Council,  without  the  knowledge  of 
his  legates  : 

“ The  patriarch  of  Constantinople  is  to  enjoy 
a similar  primacy  to  that  of  imperial  Rome — 
for  Constantinople  is  New  Rome — and  shall  be 
mighty  in  Church  affairs  as  she  is,  and  shall  be 
second  after  her/' 

From  this  date  onward,  however,  the  Popes 
recognised  Constantinople  as  a patriarchal  see. 
But  they  refused  to  consider  seriously  its  claim 
to  control  ecclesiastical  affairs  all  over  the 
East. 

With  the  other  patriarchs  St.  Gregory  was 
always  on  friendly  terms.  On  one  occasion  he 
testified  to  the  purity  of  faith  in  the  Church  of 
Jerusalem.  On  another,  he  interposed  as  peace- 
maker between  its  patriarch  and  a certain  abbot. 

" I know  that  you  are  both  of  you  mortified 
men,  both  humble,  both  salt  of  good  savour  in 
the  preaching  of  the  word.  ...  I love  you 
both,  and  am  much  afraid  lest  the  sacrifice  of 
your  prayers  be  marred  by  any  dissension.” 

Anastasius  of  Antioch,  and  Eulogius  of 
Alexandria,  were  his  personal  friends. 


THE  EMPEROR'S  BISHOP  229 


Anastasius  found  in  him  an  effective  champion 
when  unjustly  in  disgrace  with  the  emperor. 

“ Lo,  in  your  old  age/'  wrote  the  Pope, 
“ Your  Blessedness  labours  under  many  tribu- 
lations. But  remember  in  whose  chair  you  sit. 
Is  it  not  his  to  whom  it  was  said,  1 When  thou 
art  old,  another  shall  gird  thee  and  carry  thee 
whither  thou  wouldst  not  ? ' " 

“ There  is  a peculiar  tie  between  Rome  and 
Alexandria/'  he  wrote  to  Eulogius,  “ which 
compels  us  to  love  it  in  a very  special  way. 
Whatever  good  I hear  of  you  I impute  it  to 
myself.  And  if  you  hear  anything  good  of  me, 
impute  that  to  your  merits." 

He  often  consulted  this  patriarch  on  points 
of  doctrine,  for  Eulogius  was  a ripe  scholar, 
well  read  in  the  writings  of  those  Fathers  of  the 
Church  who  praised  God  in  Greek. 

It  was  to  safeguard  the  rights  of  Antioch  and 
Alexandria  that  Pelagius  II  had  lodged  his 
formal  protest  against  the  title  universal  (or 
oecumenical)  bishop,  which  a local  synod  in  588 
conferred  upon  John  the  Faster. 

This  monk  of  mortified  life,  but  arrogant  in 
his  pretensions,  and  very  rigid  towards  his 
underlings,  became  patriarch  of  Constantinople 
while  St.  Gregory  was  there  as  apocrisarius. 
We  have  already  quoted  from  the  friendly  letter 
in  which  our  saint  announced  to  John  his  own 


230  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


election  to  the  Holy  See.  He  wrote  again,  and 
in  terms  of  stinging  sarcasm,  when  two  priests 
appealed  to  Rome  against  the  cruel  treatment 
meted  out  to  them  in  Constantinople  : 

“ I have  written  several  letters  to  my  most 
holy  brother,  the  Lord  John,  but  I am  utterly 
mistaken  in  the  opinion  I have  formed  of  him, 
if  he  really  wrote  the  letter  1 received  in 
reply.  ...” 

For  the  priest  Athanasius  had  been  beaten 
with  rods  in  Santa  Sofia,  and  John  said  he  knew 
nothing  about  it. 

“ My  brother  John  must  know  wrhat  goes  on 
in  his  own  Church,”  St.  Gregory  continues. 
“ If  he  tells  me  he  knoweth  not,  what  answer 
am  I to  give  ? Most  holy  brother,  is  this  the 
outcome  of  your  fasting,  that  you  pretend  to 
be  ignorant  of  the  injury  done  to  your  brother  ? 
Would  it  not  be  better  that  meat  should  enter 
your  mouth  than  that  falsehood  should  issue 
therefrom  ? . . . But  God  forbid  that  I should 
believe  this  evil  of  your  holy  heart.  Those 
letters  indeed  were  signed  with  your  name,  but 
I think  they  must  have  been  written  by  that 
young  man  of  yours,  who  neither  trembles 
before  God  nor  blushes  before  man,  who  is 
accused  of  heinous  crimes.  ...  If  you  listen 
to  him,  I know  that  you  cannot  live  in  peace 
with  your  brethren.  . . . 


THE  EMPEROR'S  BISHOP 


231 


" As  for  the  scourging  you  inflicted  I need 
say  no  more.  For  I have  sent  on  business,  to 
the  court  of  our  Sovereign,  Sabinian  the  deacon, 
my  beloved  son  ; and  he  will  discuss  the  matter 
with  you  thoroughly.  I trust  that  he,  at  all 
events,  will  find  in  my  Lord  John,  the  man 
whom  I knew  when  I myself  was  in  the  royal 
city." 

In  one  of  the  letters  connected  with  this  case 
John  styled  himself  “ almost  in  every  line," 
oecumenical  or  universal  patriarch.  To  keep 
silence  would  imply  consent,  and  in  Gregory's 
conscience  " to  admit  this  degrading  title  would 
be  to  sin  against  the  Faith."  For  the  title  was 
intended  to  bring  the  other  patriarchs  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  Constantinople,  and  to  prevent 
the  Pope  from  intervening  in  the  affairs  of  the 
Eastern  Churches. 

He  wrote  at  once  to  the  offender  : “ My 

brother,  love  humility,  and  do  not  try  to  raise 
yourself  by  lowering  your  brethren.  Refrain 
from  using  this  rash  name,  this  word  of  pride 
and  folly  which  is  disturbing  the  whole  Church. 
...  I have  endeavoured  once  or  twice,  through 
m;y  delegates,  to  correct  by  humble  words. 
Now  I write  myself.  And  if  my  correction  is 
treated  with  contempt,  it  remains  for  me  to 
employ  the  Church.  ..." 

This  letter  was  enclosed  in  another  to 


232  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Sabinian,  with  orders  to  give  it  into  the 
patriarch's  own  hand  : 

“ I marvel  how  you  could  so  easily  be  deceived, 
my  friend,  as  to  suffer  our  Lord  the  Emperor  to 
write  admonishing  me  to  live  in  peace  with  the 
patriarch.  You  should  have  explained  that 
there  would  be  peace  between  us  at  once,  if  he 
would  but  drop  the  proud  title.  You  have  no 
idea,  I can  see,  of  the  crafty  way  in  which  our 
brother  John  has  contrived  to  put  me  in  a 
dilemma.  Either  I must  defer  to  the  emperor's 
wish  and  so  confirm  the  patriarch  in  his  vanity, 
or  not  defer  to  it  and  so  rouse  the  emperor’s 
anger  against  myself.  But  we  shall  steer  a 
straight  course  in  the  fear  of  God  alone.  Do 
you  likewise,  dear  friend,  fear  no  man.  You 
have  full  authority  to  do  whatever  has  to  be 
done  in  this  affair." 

His  letter  to  the  emperor  is  perhaps  the  most 
moving  he  ever  penned.  The  peace  of  the  State, 
he  argues,  depends  upon  peace  within  the 
Church. 

“ What  might  of  fleshly  arm  would  dare  to 
attack  your  dominions  and  put  your  subjects  to 
the  sword,  if  all  the  priests  strove  with  one 
accord,  as  they  ought,  to  win  God’s  favour  for 
you  by  their  prayers  and  virtuous  life.  But 
wdiile  we,  unworthy  bishops,  neglect  wdiat  befits 
us  and  are  absorbed  in  what  befits  us  not,  wre 


THE  EMPEROR'S  BISHOP  233 


make  our  sins  the  allies  of  the  Avars.  Our 
bodies  are  worn  away  with  fasting,  our  hearts 
are  fat  with  pride.  We  lie  on  ashes  and  yearn 
for  the  things  that  are  above  us.  We  clothe 
ourselves  in  humble  garb,  but  in  arrogant 
conceit  we  surpass  those  who  go  clad  in  purple. 
We  teach  humility  and  our  behaviour  belies 
our  words.  We  hide  the  teeth  of  a wolf  behind 
the  face  of  a sheep.  We  may  indeed  deceive 
men,  but  our  iniquity  is  manifest  in  the  sight 
of  God.  Therefore,  He  hath  inspired  our  Most 
Religious  Lord  to  re-knit  the  hearts  of  bishops 
in  true  concord.  . . . 

" Behold  all  Europe  is  under  the  heel  of  the 
Barbarians.  Cities  are  destroyed.  There  are 
no  peasants  left  to  till  the  fields.  Idolatry  is 
rampant.  And  yet  the  bishops  who  ought  to 
be  weeping,  stretched  in  ashes  upon  the  ground, 
devise  for  themselves  names  of  vanity,  and 
glory  in  vain  titles  ! 

“ Most  Religious  Lord,  am  I defending  my 
own  cause  ? Am  I avenging  a wrong  done  to 
myself  alone  ? No.  It  is  the  cause  of  God,  it 
is  the  cause  of  the  universal  Church.  We  know, 
for  a certainty,  that  bishops  of  Constantinople 
have  fallen  into  the  whirlpool  of  heresy. 
Nestorius  and  Macedonius  are  become  not 
merely  heretics  but  heresiarchs.  If  these  were 
universal  bishops,  the  universal  Church  would 


234  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


have  been  overthrown  when  they  fell.  ...  Far 
from  all  Christian  hearts  be  that  blasphemous 
title,by  which  one  bishop  madly  arrogates  all 
honour  to  himself.  It  is  true  this  title  was 
offered  to  the  Roman  Church  at  the  Council  of 
Chalcedon,  but  none  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs  ever 
consented  to  use  it,  lest  all  other  bishops  be 
deprived  of  the  honour  which  is  justly  their  due. 

“ I,  for  my  part,  am  the  servant  of  all  priests 
so  long  as  they  behave  like  priests.  But  as 
for  the  man  who  puffed  with  vain-glory,  arches 
his  neck  against  Almighty  God  and  against  the 
ordinances  of  the  Fathers,  I trust  in  God's  help, 
that  he  shall  never  make  me  bend  my  neck  to 
him,  no  not  with  swords." 

By  the  same  courier  he  wrote  to  the  empress. 
He  seemed  to  fear  for  her  the  glamour  of  the 
patriarch's  ascetic  life  : 

“ I beseech  you,  let  no  man's  hypocrisy 
prevail  against  the  truth.  I know  that  my  most 
holy  brother,  John,  is  trying  to  gain  the 
emperor's  ear.  But  I trust  my  Lord  will  not 
be  cajoled  against  reason,  and  hurt  his  own  soul 
by  suffering  this  man’s  perverse  pride  to  pollute 
his  reign.  . . . Do  not  consent  to  this  wicked 
title.  For  though  the  sins  of  Gregory  deserve 
this  treatment,  the  Apostle  Peter  does  not 
deserve  to  be  thus  humiliated  in  his  person." 

This  series  of  letters  may  have  impressed  the 


THE  EMPEROR’S  BISHOP  235 


patriarch.  But  on  John  the  Faster’s  death  in 
595,  Cyriacus,  his  successor,  " clung  to  the 
name  of  pride  ” and  the  emperor  sent  the  Pope 
a peremptory  order  to  make  no  further  dis- 
turbance about  a mere  word. 

“ A mere  word  ! ” St.  Gregory  was  quick  to 
retort.  “ When  Antichrist  comes  and  calls 
himself  God,  that  too  will  be  a mere  word,  yet 
one  exceedingly  pernicious.  I say  it  with 
assurance : he  who  lets  himself  be  called 
universal  bishop  forestalls  Antichrist,  because 
in  his  pride  he  sets  himself  above  all  others.” 

The  epithet  to  which  he  objected  so  strongly 
was  in  Latin,  universal , in  Greek  oecumenical. 
In  one  sense  “ overseer  of  all  the  bishops  in 
Christendom,”  it  belonged  to  the  Pope  and  to 
him  alone.  But  as  Gregory  understood  it,  it 
meant  sole  bishop,  with  the  world  for  his 
diocese,  and  all  other  bishops  merely  his  agents, 
without  rights  and  responsibilities  of  their  own. 
” If  there  be  but  one  universal  bishop  (he  is 
writing  as  a metropolitan),  it  follows  that  you 
yourselves  are  not  bishops  at  all.” 

For  the  Greeks,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  quite 
possible  that  “oecumenical  ” applied  only  to  the 
” Home  States,”  the  portion  of  Christendom 
included  in  the  Empire.  It  is  quite  possible,  and 
even  probable,  that  the  patriarch  of  Constanti- 
nople merely  aimed  at  holding  with  regard  to 


236  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


the  patriarchs  of  Alexandria,  Antioch  and  Jer- 
usalem, the  same  position  that  the  Pope  was 
acknowledged  to  hold  with  regard  to  the 
bishops  of  the  universal  Church. 

Small  help  did  the  Pope  receive  from  these 
patriarchs,  whose  battle  he  was  fighting. 

" Stand  firm/1  he  exhorted  them,  " never 
answer  or  sign  any  letter  in  which  this  lying 
title  occurs.  . . . Preserve  the  bishops  under 
you  from  the  pollution  of  this  pride.  Persecu- 
tion may  result.  If  so  let  us  show  by  our  union 
in  death  that  we  prefer  the  common  good  to 
our  personal  interests.  Pray  for  me,  as  becomes 
your  dearest  Holiness,  that  I may  prove  by 
deeds  what  I thus  dare  to  say.” 

Anastasius  of  Antioch  saw  no  danger  in  the 
word,  and  told  him  so.  “ You  ought  not  to 
have  said  that  the  matter  is  of  no  importance,” 
the  Pope  wrote  in  reply.  " If  we  endure  this 
calmly  we  corrupt  the  faith  of  the  whole  Church. 
To  say  nothing  of  the  injury  to  your  own  office, 
if  one  bishop  is  called  universal,  the  whole 
Church  collapses  when  the  universal  one  fails 
in  faith.  And  you  know  that  heretics  and  even 
heresiarchs  have  before  now  held  sway  in  the 
See  of  Constantinople.” 

Eulogius  of  Alexandria  promised  he  would 
obey  the  Pope's  injunction.  St.  Gregory  was 
not  satisfied  with  the  wording  of  his  letter. 


THE  EMPEROR’S  BISHOP  237 

“ Your  Blessedness  has  not  taken  the  trouble 
to  remember  accurately  what  I tried  to  impress 
upon  you  when  last  I wrote.  I said  you  ought 
not  to  apply  the  proud  title  to  me,  or  to  anyone 
else.  Yet  in  the  very  first  line  of  your  reply, 
you  address  me  as  universal  Pope  ! I beg  your 
gentlest  Holiness,  whom  I love  so  dearly,  never 
to  do  this  again.  What  you  give  so  unreasonably 
to  another  you  take  awray  from  yourself.  I do 
not  wish  for  an  honour  by  which  my  brethren 
lose  that  honour  which  is  their  due.  My  honour 
is  the  honour  of  the  whole  Church.  My  honour 
is  the  united  strength  of  my  brother  bishops. 
Then  am  I truly  honoured  when  the  honour  due 
to  each  one  is  not  withheld.  Now  if  Your 
Holiness  calls  me  universal  Pontiff,  you  deny 
to  yourself  the  thing  [episcopal  jurisdiction] 
about  which  you  call  me  universal.  Cease  using 
words  which  inflate  vanity  and  wound  fraternal 
love.” 


CHAPTER  XIV 


SERVANT  OF  THE  SERVANTS  OF  GOD. 

ST.  LEO  THE  GREAT  was  not  the  only 
Pope  who  refused  the  title  of  universal 
bishop.  The  Eastern  prelates  applied 
it  successively  to  Hormisdas,  Agapetus  and 
Boniface  II,  but  these  Pontiffs  never  encouraged 
the  novel  mode  of  address.  St.  Gregory  was 
not  satisfied  with  merely  lodging  his  formal 
protest.  He  assumed  a title  which  the  arrogance 
of  Constantinople  dared  not  copy.  He  was  the 
first  Pope  to  sign  himself  habitually,  “ Servus 
Servorum  Dei/' 

The  phrase  sums  up  his  pontificate.  We 
reverence  him,  and  rightly,  as  one  of  the  great 
doctors  of  the  Church — one  of  the  greatest, 
precisely  because  he  expressed  the  truths  of 
religion  in  very  simple  language  for  the  average 
man  to  understand.  He  preached  and  he  wrote 
always  with  an  eye  to  the  needs  of  his  audience. 
His  book  on  Job  was  suited  to  the  educated 
among  the  devout  : he  blamed  a bishop  who 
used  it  as  the  groundwork  of  his  sermons.  His 
own  homilies  were  always  homely,  heart-to- 
heart  talks  with  his  flock.  One  feels  inclined 


SERVUS  SERVORUM  DEI 


239 


to  apply  to  them,  in  all  reverence,  his  own 
remark  on  the  diction  of  Holy  Writ  : “ Our 
Heavenly  Father  lisps  to  us,  his  little  children, 
in  baby  language,  that  so  He  may  make  His 
meaning  understood/ ' 

But  it  is  in  his  letters  that  the  holy  Pope 
shows  himself  all  in  all  to  any  individual 
member  of  his  world-wide  flock  who  might  stand 
in  need  of  his  charitable  ministrations.  The 
phrase  “ your  fellow-servant  ” was  no  mere 
trick  of  rhetoric  in  his  letters  of  manumission 
to  Thomas  and  Montana. 

“ Why  do  you  call  yourself  my  handmaid  ? ” 
he  writes  to  the  noble  matron,  Rusticiana. 
" The  burden  of  my  episcopal  office  makes  me 
the  servant  of  all  mankind,  and  even  before  I 
was  a bishop,  I was  always  ready  to  serve 
you  ” 

Rusticiana  was  the  widow  of  his  kinsman,  the 
famous  Boethius.  She  may  have  caressed 
St.  Gregory  in  his  infancy  ; for  she  was  in 
Rome  during  Totila's  war,  spending  her  great 
wealth  lavishly  to  relieve  the  poor.  But  it 
was  at  Constantinople  that  acquaintance 
ripened  into  friendship ; for  she  was  living 
there  with  her  daughter  Eusebia  when  Gregory 
came  as  nuncio.  He  feared  for  her  the  glamour 
of  the  gay  metropolis.  In  one  of  her  letters 
she  told  him  of  her  travels  in  the  Holy  Land. 


240  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


“ Believe  me/'  he  wrote  in  reply,  “ I should 
like  to  have  gone  with  you,  but  I should  never 
have  hurried  home  as  quickly  as  you  did. 
I find  it  hard  to  believe  that  you  really  have 
visited  the  holy  places,  and  yet  left  them  so 
soon  to  come  back  to  Constantinople.  The 
love  of  that  city  is  indeed  firmly  rooted  in 
your  heart,  and  I shrewdly  suspect  Your 
Excellency  did  not  give  your  whole  attention 
to  the  sacred  shrines  ! . . . May  Almighty  God 
mercifully  enlighten  you  with  wisdom  and  piety, 
and  grace  to  feel  how  fleeting  are  the  things  of 
time.  For  very  soon,  Death  and  the  Judgment 
after  death  will  force  you  to  loosen  your  hold 
on  worldly  gaieties." 

In  another  letter  he  urges  her  to  come  to 
Rome.  The  Romans  still  hold  her  in  grateful 
memory,  he  writes,  and  a visit  to  the  threshold 
of  the  Holy  Apostles  ( ad  limina)  will  greatly 
benefit  her  soul. 

"You  need  not  fear  the  wars  in  Italy  ; for 
St.  Peter  wonderfully  protects  his  city,  shrunken 
as  it  is  in  population  and  bereft  of  military  aid. 
We  invite  you  out  of  our  great  love.  May 
God  grant  you  whatever  He  sees  best  for 
the  good  of  your  soul  and  the  welfare  of  your 
household." 

Rusticiana  did  not  come  to  Rome.  She  sent 
instead  rich  gifts  to  adorn  the  basilicas. 


SERVUS  SERVORUM  DEI 


241 


Gregoria,  his  godchild  perhaps,  is  gently 
dealt  with,  when  she  endeavours  to  entangle 
him  in  her  scruples. 

“ In  the  welcome  letter  which  Your  Sweet- 
ness wrote  me,  you  strive  your  utmost  to  accuse 
yourself  of  a crowd  of  sins.  But  I know  that 
you  love  God  fervently,  and  I know  also  that 
the  lips  of  Eternal  Truth  have  said  of  the 
Magdalen : ' Many  sins  are  forgiven  her, 

because  she  hath  loved  much/  " 

Gregoria  had  asked  the  Pope  for  an  authori- 
tative pronouncement  as  to  the  state  of  her 
soul  in  the  Sight  of  God. 

“ Your  request  is  difficult  and  useless/'  he 
replies.  “ Difficult,  because  I do  not  deserve 
to  have  such  a secret  revealed  to  me  ; useless, 
because  it  would  not  be  good  for  you  to  feel 
secure  about  your  sins,  until  you  have  no  longer 
eyes  to  weep  for  them.  Do  not  wish,  my  sweet 
daughter,  for  an  assurance  that  might  make  you 
negligent  in  the  service  of  God.  Be  satisfied  to 
remain  anxious  yet  a little  while,  on  earth,  that 
so  you  may  rejoice  throughout  eternity  in  the 
security  of  the  saints." 

He  held  in  very  high  opinion  Theoctista,  the 
empress's  sister,  who  was  governess  to  the 
imperial  children. 

" Why  are  you  so  reluctant  to  tell  me  about 
our  Serene  Lady  ? " he  writes.  “ Does  she  read 


242  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


studiously  ? Does  her  reading  help  her  to 
compunction  ? You  ought  to  watch  very 
carefully  whether  she  weeps  for  her  sins  out  of 
fear  or  out  of  love.  By  the  grace  of  God  you 
have  experienced  both  forms  of  compunction, 
and  you  should  consider  carefully,  day  by 
day  how  your  words  may  best  benefit  our 
Most  Serene  Lady.  Your  company  ought 
to  do  her  much  good  amid  the  turmoil  of 
business  which  draws  her  incessantly  to  exterior 
things.** 

“ Instruct  carefully  the  young  princes  whom 
you  educate,**  he  writes  again.  Let  them  learn 
well  the  things  that  will  move  them  to  love 
one  another,  and  to  treat  their  underlings  with 
gentleness,  lest  any  hatred  commence  in  them 
now  and  afterwards  break  out  openly.  . . . 
The  words  of  nurses  will  be  milk  if  good,  but 
poison  if  evil.** 

In  another  letter  he  refers  to  "a  storm  of 
calumny  **  which  " to  her  no  small  disgust  ** 
the  princess  had  to  endure.  “ God  often  permits 
trials  of  this  kind,  lest  excessive  praise  engender 
pride  in  His  elect,  who  need  these  bitter  draughts 
occasionally  to  keep  their  souls  in  health. 
Besides,  there  would  be  no  scope  for  patience 
if  we  had  nothing  to  endure.  It  needed  a 
brother  like  Cain  to  bring  out  all  that  was  good 
in  Abel.** 


SERVUS  SERVORUM  DEI  243 


However,  he  would  not  have  her  remain 
entirely  passive,  especially  as  her  orthodoxy 
was  called  in  question. 

" When  we  can  still  the  murmurs  of  foolish 
people  and  bring  them  back  to  a healthy  frame 
of  mind,  we  certainly  ought  not  to  allow  them 
to  remain  scandalized.  Of  your  own  accord, 
therefore,  invite  your  leading  accusers  to  a 
private  interview,  and  anathematize  in  their 
presence  those  perverse  opinions  which  they  say 
you  hold.  Do  not  deem  it  degrading  to  give 
them  this  satisfaction,  nor  suffer  any  feelings  of 
scorn  for  them  to  linger  in  your  mind.  I 
remember  you  are  of  the  imperial  family,  but 
we  are  all  brethren,  created  by  the  Power  and 
redeemed  by  the  Blood  of  the  same  Sovereign 
God.  The  words  of  detractors,  as  well  as  your 
own  good  deeds,  will  add  to  the  glory  of  your 
Heavenly  Crown.” 

The  empress  Constantia  wrote  to  him  in  594 
to  ask  him  for  the  head  of  St.  Paul.  He  refused 
. point  blank. 

“ You  require  of  me  what  I cannot  and  dare 
not  do.  The  bodies  of  the  Blessed  Peter  and 
Paul  are  glorified  in  their  Churches  by  such 
miracles  and  awful  prodigies  that  no  one 
approaches  them  without  great  care.”  He 
instances  cases  of  sudden  death  when  the  relics 
were  touched  even  inadvertently  or  through 


244  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


motives  of  piety.  “ When  the  Romans  give 
relics  of  the  saints  they  do  not  venture  to  touch 
any  part  of  the  body  ; but  they  give  instead 
cloths  (brandea)  which  have  been  placed  on  the 
tomb.  Certain  Greeks  once  expressed  doubts  of 
the  efficacy  of  such  relics  ; but,  according  to 
the  tradition  handed  down  by  our  ancestors. 
Pope  Leo,  of  blessed  memory,  took  shears  and 
cut  the  cloth  ; and  as  he  cut  it  blood  flowed 
forth.  In  the  regions  round  Rome,  and  indeed 
throughout  the  West,  it  is  considered  sacrilege 
to  touch  the  bodies  of  saints,  a sacrilege  that 
never  remains  unpunished.  We  can  scarcely 
believe  the  Greeks  when  they  tell  us  they  are 
in  the  habit  of  moving  the  bones  of  the  saints. 
. . . However,  as  the  pious  wishes  of  my  Most 
Serene  Lady  ought  not  to  be  wholly  without 
fruit,  I am  sending  you,  as  soon  as  possible, 
a portion  of  the  chains  which  St.  Paul  wore 
upon  his  neck  and  hands — that  is  if  I succeed 
in  filing  off  a portion.  For  many  persons  beg 
for  filings  of  these  chains,  and  in  some  cases 
the  priest  detaches  them  quite  easily,  in  others 
the  file  is  worked  a long  time  over  the  chains 
without  the  least  success.” 

In  603  he  hears  that  Eulogius,  patriarch  of 
Alexandria,  has  trouble  with  his  eyesight. 
“ I send  you  a small  cross,”  writes  the  Pope, 
" with  filings  from  the  chains  of  the  Apostles 


SERVUS  SERVORUM  DEI 


245 


St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  who  love  you  well. 
Apply  it  to  your  eyes,  for  many  miracles  are 
wrought  by  this  gift.” 

He  sends  similar  filings  in  a key  to  Theoctista, 
and  tells  her  how  a Lombard,  during  the  sack 
of  a city,  cut  open  the  reliquary  with  his  knife. 
" Forthwith  the  devil  entered  into  him  and 
constrained  him  to  draw  the  knife  across  his 
own  throat.”  So  terrified  were  the  Lombards 
that  King  Authari  sent  the  key  to  the  Pope, 
with  another  like  it,  and  an  account  of  the 
whole  affair. 

In  one  of  his  homilies  on  the  Gospel,  St. 
Gregory  points  out  to  his  people  that  each  one 
of  us  has  received  at  least  one  talent  which  he 
must  use  for  the  honour  of  God  and  the  profit 
of  his  neighbour. 

" A man's  talent  may  be  some  friend,  plenti- 
fully endowed  with  the  goods  of  this  world, 
and  it  behoveth  him  to  use  his  talent  and  to 
intercede  with  this  friend  on  behalf  of  the 
poor.” 

His  letters  testify  that  he  practised  what  he 
preached.  Vast  sums  of  money  reached  him 
from  his  friends  in  Constantinople  to  help  his 
charities.  And  he  thanked  as  gracefully  as  he 
begged.  We  find  him  writing  to  the  emperor’s 
physician  : 

" Besides  rendering  my  account  to  God  of  the 


246  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


revenues  of  Holy  Church,  I have  now  to  answer 
to  Him  for  the  goods  of  my  sweet  son  Theodore. 
Pray  for  us  that  we  may  not  spend  the  fruit  of 
your  labour  indiscreetly,  where  no  real  need 
exists,  and  thus  increase  our  own  sins  by  the 
very  alms  which  lessens  yours.” 

Theodore,  who  had  great  influence  over 
Maurice,  was  his  good  friend  at  Court  in  many 
a delicate  predicament.  But  our  holy  Pope  did 
not  write  to  him  merely  to  ask  a favour  or  to 
thank  for  an  alms. 

“ I have  a complaint  to  lodge  against  the 
gentle  soul  of  my  most  glorious  son,  the  Lord 
Theodore.  He  has  received  from  the  Holy 
Trinity  the  gift  of  intellect,  the  gift  of  wealth, 
the  gift  of  mercy  and  of  love.  And  yet  he  is  so 
engrossed  with  his  work  and  with  Court  functions 
as  to  negect  to  read  daily  in  the  Holy  Scriptures. 
Now,  if  you  were  absent  from  Court  and  received 
a letter  from  our  Lord  the  Emperor,  you  would 
not  sleep,  you  would  not  eat  till  you  had  mas- 
tered its  contents.  The  Emperor  of  Heaven,  the 
Lord  of  angels  and  of  men,  sends  you  in  Holy 
Writ  His  letters  for  the  saving  of  your  soul, 
and  yet,  my  glorious  son,  you  do  not  read  them 
with  all  diligence.  Study  them,  I pray  you. 
Learn  from  God’s  Words  to  know  God’s  Heart, 
and  to  yearn  more  ardently  for  the  delights  of 
heaven.  For  your  soul  will  rejoice  in  a deeper 


SERVUS  SERVORUM  DEI  247 


rest  hereafter,  if  here  below  you  give  yourself 
no  rest  in  the  love  and  praise  of  God.  May  He 
fill  your  mind  with  His  presence  and  so  relieve 
it  from  all  care.” 

St.  Gregory  mentions  in  one  of  his  letters 
that  he  knew  but  one  prefect  who  retired  from 
office  with  untarnished  honour.  He  was  not 
likely,  therefore,  to  help  his  friends  to  posts  of 
dignity. 

" You  ask  me  to  recommend  you  to  the 
emperor,”  he  writes  to  a man  named  Andrew. 
“ I am  greatly  grieved,  because  I always  thought 
you  had  noble  aspirations.  I have  known  many 
men  employed  in  the  service  of  the  State,  who 
bitterly  bewailed  that  they  had  no  leisure  to 
attend  to  their  souls.  When  a man  holds  office 
under  our  most  religious  sovereign,  how  greatly 
is  his  mind  absorbed  in  the  pursuit  of  his 
prince's  favour,  and  when  that  is  gained,  how 
greatly  does  he  fear  to  lose  it.  It  is  grievous 
that  a man  should  thus  waste  his  life,  longing 
for  prosperity  or  trembling  lest  adversity  befall. 
I advise  Your  Greatness  to  lead  a peaceful  and 
quiet  life,  in  some  pleasant,  retired  spot,  where 
you  may  study  and  meditate,  inflame  youi 
heart  with  the  love  of  eternity,  do  good  witl 
the  wealth  at  your  command,  and  look  forward 
with  hope  to  heaven  as  your  reward  for  doing 
good.  I say  this,  my  noble  son,  because  I love 


248  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


you  greatly.  I see  you  drifting  into  a stormy 
sea,  and  I throw  out  my  wrords  like  ropes  to 
draw  you  ashore,  where  you  may  rest  and 
appreciate  the  evils  you  have  escaped  and  the 
good  things  you  will  enjoy/* 

Sometimes  he  had  real  sins  to  cope  with  in 
his  letters,  not  merely  a slackening  in  the 
pursuit  of  perfection. 

“Iam  told/*  he  writes  to  Clementina,  " that 
when  anyone  offends  you,  you  brood  over  the 
injury  and  will  not  forgive.  If  this  is  true  I am 
very  sorry,  for  I love  you,  and  I entreat  you 
to  expel  nobly  this  rancour  from  your  soul. 
Do  not  allowr  the  tares  of  the  enemy  to  grow? 
up  among  your  wheat.  Repeat  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  and  let  not  the  trespass  have  greater 
wreight  with  you  than  the  duty  of  forgiveness. 
Conquer  ill-deeds  by  kindness,  win  the  offender 
by  salutary  forbearance,  forgive  him  and  he  will 
feel  ashamed,  retain  no  feeling  that  may  give 
him  pain.  We  have  sometimes  to  punish  and 
to  punish  severely ; but  once  the  fault  is 
corrected  we  have  no  right  to  withhold  our 
friendliness  from  the  wrong-doer." 

Such  was  his  own  unvarying  practice.  When 
Maximus  of  Salona  found  his  coveted  bishopric 
no  bed  of  roses,  Gregory  helped  him  with 
sympathy  and  fatherly  advice.  The  Slavs  were 
harrying  Istria,  and  its  bishop  wras  harassed  by 


SERVUS  SERVORUM  DEI 


249 


the  Gentiles  without  and  by  the  governors 
within. 

“ Do  not  grieve  overmuch,  " wrote  Gregory, 
" for  those  who  come  after  us  will  see  yet  worse 
times,  and  think  our  age  happy  in  comparison 
with  theirs.  But  as  far  as  you  can,  my  brother, 
you  must  resist  these  men  on  behalf  of  the 
oppressed.  Even  if  you  fail  in  your  effort, 
Almighty  God  is  satisfied  with  the  intention 
which  He  has  Himself  inspired.  ...  Yet 
season  your  zeal  with  mildness,  lest  if  you  act 
too  rigidly  men  should  think  you  are  puffed  up 
with  a young  man's  pride.  When  we  defend 
the  weak  against  the  strong,  the  oppressed  must 
feel  sure  that  we  are  really  helping  them,  and 
the  oppressors,  howsoever  evilly  inclined  towards 
us,  must  find  nothing  to  blame  in  our  conduct." 

He  then  gives  advice  on  how  to  deal  with 
schismatics  and  malcontents.  "If  however  any 
of  these  wish  to  come  to  me  with  complaints  of 
you,  do  nothing  to  hinder  their  journey.  Trust 
me  to  give  them  complete  satisfaction,  or  else 
be  sure  they  will  never  see  their  country  again 
while  you  are  alive." 

When  St.  Gregory  was  himself  in  the  wrong 
he  never  hesitated  to  make  generous  amends. 
He  wrote  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Peter  the 
Sub-deacon  : 

“ I am  greatly  grieved  because  I rebuked 


250  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


Pretiosus  too  severely,  and  sent  him  away  in 
bitterness  and  sorrow.  I asked  my  Lord  Bishop 
Maximianus  to  send  him  back  to  me,  but  he 
was  very  unwilling  to  do  so.  Now  I do  not 
wish  to  annoy  the  bishop  ; busy  as  he  is  in  the 
work  of  God,  he  needs  to  be  strengthened  and 
encouraged,  not  thwarted.  And  yet  Pretiosus 
is  very  sad  because  he  cannot  come  to  me.  If 
you  have  more  wisdom  in  }'Our  little  body  than 
I have  in  my  big  one,  arrange  the  matter  so 
that  I may  have  my  wish  without  incon- 
venience to  my  Lord  Bishop.  But  let  the  matter 
drop  if  you  see  it  worries  him/1 

The  Pope  sometimes  blamed  his  bishops  for 
lack  of  zeal,  but  never  for  lack  of  success.  He 
wrote  to  Domitian,  metropolitan  of  Armenia,  a 
respected  kinsman  of  the  Emperor  Maurice  : 

" I grieve  indeed  that  the  emperor  of  the 
Persians  was  not  converted,  but  I greatly 
rejoiced  that  you  preached  before  him  the  Faith 
of  Christ.  For  though  he  did  not  merit  to  reach 
the  light  of  truth,  yet  your  holiness  will  be 
rewarded  for  your  efforts  on  his  behalf.  For 
the  Ethiopian  goes  into  the  bath  black  and 
comes  out  of  it  black,  but  for  all  that  the 
bath-man  gets  his  fee.” 

For  other  instances  of  Gregory's  delicate 
treatment  of  individual  souls  we  must,  in  the 
words  of  his  mediaeval  biographer,  John  the 


SERVUS  SERVORUM  DEI 


251 


Deacon,*  " refer  the  eye  of  the  reader  to  the 
abundant  fulness  of  his  venerable  register.” 
Eight  hundred  and  fifty  letters  have  come  down 
to  us  in  the  fourteen  books  of  this  register — 
one  book  for  each  year  of  his  pontificate — yet 
he  himself  refers  to  seventy-seven  other  letters 
of  his  of  which  no  copies  have  been  thus 
recorded. 

And  while  he  thus  catered  constantly  for  the 
spiritual  health  and  comfort  of  his  many  friends, 
the  holy  Pope  was  not  unmindful  of  their  bodily 
ills.  When  he  heard  that  Marinianus  of  Ravenna 
was  vomiting  blood,  he  consulted  the  most 
skilful  physicians  in  Rome. 

" They  all  prescribe  rest  and  silence,”  he 
wrote,  “ and  I doubt  much  whether  Your 
Fraternity  can  obtain  either  in  your  Church.” 
So  the  archbishop  is  to  arrange  for  the  adminis- 
tration of  his  diocese,  and  come  to  Rome  before 
the  summer  heats.  " I wish  to  take  your  illness 
under  my  especial  care,  and  secure  rest  for  you. 
The  doctors  say  that  summer  is  the  most 
dangerous  season  for  one  with  your  disease. 
So  if  you  should  be  called  awray,  Our  lord  will 
take  you  from  my  arms.  I am  myself  in  very 


* St.  Gregory  the  Great  had  at  least  two  biographers  in 
deacon  s orders.  Paul  Warnfred  730 — 796,  and  John 
who  wrote  in  872. 


252  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


weak  health.  If  God  were  to  call  me  before  you, 
I should  like  to  pass  away  in  your  arms.  Bring 
few  people  with  you,  for  you  are  to  lodge  in  my 
own  house.  If  you  feel  better  and  defer  your 
journey,  remember  that  I strictly  forbid  you  to 
fast  oftener  than  five  days  in  the  year.  And, 
beloved,  do  not  undertake  any  labour  beyond 
your  strength.” 

St.  Gregory  might  thus  exhort,  but  he 
struggled  gallantly  through  his  own  work, 
despite  the  ill-health  on  which  we  have  enlarged 
elsewhere.  Many  letters,  especially  in  his  later 
years,  were  dictated  from  the  bed  where  he  lay, 
writhing  in  agony  and  groaning  to  alleviate  his 
pain.  In  one  of  his  last  letters  he  wrote  to 
Queen  Theodolind  : 

“ The  gout  has  gripped  us.  We  are  so  weak 
that  we  can  scarcely  speak,  much  less  dictate 
on  business  matters.  We  call  to  witness  your 
own  messengers,  the  bearers  of  this.  For  when 
they  arrived  they  found  us  sick  ; and  now  they 
depart,  leaving  us  in  the  greatest  danger  and 
crisis  of  life.” 

We  have  no  details  as  to  the  death-bed  of 
this  holy  Pope.  It  was,  we  learn  from  his 
epitaph,  on  the  12th  of  March,  604,  in  the 
sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age  and  the  fourteenth 
of  his  pontificate,  that  " the  Consul  of  God  went 
to  enjoy  everlasting  triumph.”  His  funeral  was 


SERVUS  SERVORUM  DEI  253 


simple,  as  he  himself  had  arranged  a Pope's 
funeral  should  always  be.  In  death  at  least,  he 
decreed,  all  pomp  should  cease. 

" Whereas  the  faithful  venerate  us,  unworthy 
though  we  be,  with  the  reverence  due 
to  the  Blessed  Apostle  Peter,  we  ought  always 
to  consider  our  infirmity  and  studiously  to 
decline  the  burden  of  this  reverence.  . . . From 
the  love  of  the  faithful  the  custom  has  arisen 
of  paying  an  undeserved  honour  to  the  rulers 
of  his  see.  When  their  bodies  are  carried  to 
the  tomb,  they  are  covered  with  dalmatics,  and 
these  dalmatics  the  people  tear  to  shreds  and 
divide  among  themselves  devoutly  as  something 
sacred.  Yea,  although  there  be  in  the  city  many 
coverings  from  the  sacred  bodies  of  the  Apostles 
and  martyrs,  men  take  from  the  bodies  of 
sinners  these  shreds  which  they  store  up  with 
feelings  of  deep  reverence." 

That  year  the  vines  in  Italy  were  killed  by 
frost,  and  mice  and  rust  destroyed  the  crops  of 
corn.  " It  was  right  and  seemly,"  is  the 
comment  of  Paul  the  Deacon,  “ that  men 
should  hunger  and  go  athirst,  seeing  that  the 
death  of  Gregory  deprived  the  faithful  of 
spiritual  food  and  drink."  There  was  dearth 
in  Rome,  and  now  that  he  was  not  there  to 
organize,  the  relief  measures  did  not  cope  with 
the  distress. 


254  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


One  legend  tells  us  how  St.  Gregory  appeared 
in  vision  to  the  reigning  Pope,  Sabinian,  and 
rebuked  him  sharply  for  withdrawing  the  doles 
which  he  himself  had  been  wont  to  distribute 
by  means  of  his  monasteries,  guest-houses, 
deaconries  and  hospitals.  According  to  another 
legend,  the  fickle  populace  blamed  the  dead 
Pope,  not  the  living  one,  for  the  suffering  in 
Rome.  The  treasury  of  the  Holy  See  was 
empty,  they  declared,  because  Gregory,  “ for 
the  glory  of  his  own  praise,”  had  squandered 
the  Roman  revenues  in  indiscreet  hospitality, 
and  scattered  money  broadcast  in  largesse 
throughout  the  world. 

And  so  mob  law  decreed  that  his  memory 
should  not  live,  and  bonfires  were  kindled  to 
burn  his  writings.  At  last  Peter,  his  friend  and 
confidential  secretary,  succeeded  in  gaining  a 
hearing.  He  told  how  the  saint  sat  behind  a 
curtain  while  dictating  to  him  his  homilies  on 
Ezechiel.  As  Gregory  kept  silence  for  long 
intervals,  his  servant  made  a hole  in  the  curtain 
with  his  pen,  and  peeping  through  the  slit  he 
saw  the  Pope,  his  hands  lifted  in  prayer  and  a 
snow-white  dove  perching  on  his  head.  “ When- 
ever the  Blessed  Gregory  hesitated,  the  dove 
applied  its  beak  to  his  ear.  The  Pope  found 
out  that  his  secretary  had  peeped,  and  strictly 
enjoined  him  to  keep  the  matter  secret.  ‘ The 


SERVUS  SERVORUM  DEI 


255 


day  you  make  it  known/  he  told  him,  ' you 
shall  die  a sudden  death/  ” 

Peter  offered  to  swear  on  the  Holy  Gospels 
that  what  he  said  was  true.  If  he  lived  till  the 
morrow  he  would  burn  the  books  with  his  own 
hands.  If  he  died  as  foretold,  the  Romans 
promised  they  would  not  injure  a single  book. 
" Amid  the  words  of  his  true  confession  he 
breathed  forth  his  spirit,”  a valiant  witness  to 
truth  and  friendship. 

Legends  of  the  saints  are  usually  meant  to 
point  a moral.  A man's  life  was  well  worth 
losing  to  preserve  to  the  Church  the  works  of 
St.  Gregory — in  very  truth  “ the  precious  life- 
blood of  a master-spirit,  embalmed  and 
treasured  up  on  purpose  to  a life  beyond  life.” 
His  writings  retain  their  hold  upon  Christian 
readers,  however  cynically  such  men  as  Gibbon 
may  sneer  at  them  as  " innocent  of  any  classic 
taste  in  literature.”  Our  own  Alfred  translated 
his  Pastoral  Rule,  and  made  use  of  it  in  working 
out  our  English  code  of  laws.  St.  Teresa  loved 
his  M or  alia  from  the  Book  of  Job  : St.  Thomas 
Aquinas  and  St.  Bernard  nearly  knew  it  by 
heart.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  exaggerate  the 
importance  of  his  Letters  to  the  student  who 
aims  at  an  accurate  insight  into  the  sixth  century 
with  clear  ideas  as  to  the  role  of  the  papacy  in 
feudal  Europe.  The  Protestant  reader  finds  in 


256  ST.  GREGORY  THE  GREAT 


his  Dialogues  already  full-grown  and  rampan 
that  popery  which  he  has  been  taught  to  believ 
a superstitious  overgrowth  of  the  Middle  Ages 
For  Gregory  entertains  Peter  with  stories  “ c 
monks  and  nuns  and  anchorets,  of  monasti 
poverty,  of  vows  of  chastity  which  it  wa 
sacrilege  to  break  even  for  marriage,  of  clericc 
celibacy,  of  the  invocation  of  saints,  c 
pilgrimages  and  shrines  and  relics  and  miracles 
of  the  Sign  of  the  Cross,  and  of  Holy  Water,  c 
purgatory,  of  ' sacrifices  of  Masses 1 for  th 
living  and  of  trentals  for  the  dead,  of  th 
Reservation  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  of  th 
primacy  of  the  Roman  See,  and  of  the  superiorit 
of  the  successor  of  St.  Peter  above  all  bishops. 

In  this  appreciation  of  the  Dialogues,  from  th 
pen  of  Father  Coleridge,  S.J.,  we  may  appen 
the  terse  panegyric  pronounced  by  Bossuet  upo 
the  achievements  of  St.  Gregory  : 

" This  great  Pope  subdued  the  Lombards,  save 
Rome  and  Italy  though  the  emperors  gave  hir 
no  help,  repressed  the  upstart  pride  of  th 
patriarchs  of  Constantinople,  enlightened  th 
whole  Church  by  his  teaching,  governed  bot 
East  and  West  with  vigour  and  humility,  an 
gave  to  the  world  a perfect  pattern  of  pastors 
rule.” 


INDEX 


Adeodatus  of  Nnmidia,  123 
Adoald,  101 
Adrian  of  Thebes,  226 
Agapetus,  35,  238 
Agilulf,  119,  146-150 
Alfred  the  Great,  89,  103,  255 
Anastasiusof  Antioch,  229,  236 
Andrew,  247 

Anthemius,  106,  130,  198 
Anthymus,  35 
Antiphonary,  114 
Apocrisarius  36,  57,  206,  222 
Arians,  13,  155 

Austin  of  Hippo,  St.,  27,  78,  197 
Augustine  of  Canterbury,  St., 
79,  102,  164-175 
Authari,  145,  245 

Barbara  and  Antonina,  87 
Bede,  24,  54,  63,  65,  155,  167,  169 
Belisarius,  15,  17,  24,  143 
Benedict,  St.,  IS.  27,  42,  53,  79 
Bertha,  161,  170 
Bessas,  15 
Boethius,  27,  239 
Boniface  III.,  177,  223,  224 
Boniface  IV.,  23 
Bossuet,  256 
Brandea,  152,  244 
Brocmail,  175 

Brunehaut,  156,  161,  165,  199 

Cassiodotus,  32 
Charlemagne,  103 
Childebert,  144,  161 
Clementina,  248 
Coleridge,  S.J.,  256 
Coloni,  193  5 
Columban,  St.,  177-8 
Columbus,  123 
Columcille,  St.,  177-9 
Commitiolus,  122 
Conal,  St.,  179 
Conan,  73 
Conductors,  185 


Constantia,  69,  70,  206,  213, 
234,  243 

Constantine,  11,  59,  72 
Constantius  of  Milan,  131,  137 
Copiosus,  74 
Cyriacus,  220,  235 

Defensors,  109,  122,  163,  184, 
187,  188,  190,  192,  197,  209 
Dialogues,  18,  29,  47,  70,  74, 
83,  92,  93,  106,  152-5,  256 
Dominic  of  Carthage,  123,  256 
Domitian,  250 
Donatus,  134 
Donatists,  124 
Duchesne,  115 
Dudden,  40,  154 

Elias,  77 
Kleutherius,  48 
Ethelbert,  163,  166-170,  182 
Eusebius,  127,  190 
Eulogius,  of  Alexandria,  169, 
229,  236,  244 

Eutychius,  64 

Exarch, 33, 37, 143, 147-8, 184, 206 

Felix  III.,  22,  27,  32 
Fioretti,  151 

Franks,  12,  142, 144,  160-165,  199 

Gelasius,  St.,  Ill,  115 
Gens  Anicia,  27 
Gordiana,  31 
Gordianus,  16,  27,  37 
Gregoria,  241 

Gregory  of  Tours,  156,  160 

Hermengild,  St.,  156 
Homilies,  86,  117-9,  238,  245,  254 
Honoratus,  138 
Horosius,  82 

Innocent,  78,  184 

Iron  Crown,  152 

Isidore  of  Seville,  St.,  197 


258 


INDEX 


Januariu9  of  Cagliari,  81.  139- 
142,  188.  203 

Jewt,  181,  199-204 
John  the  Deacon,  26,  39,  51, 
107,  113,  250 
John  the  Faster,  66,  100,  229- 
232,  235 

John  of  Ravenna,  102,  132-4 
John  of  Prima  Justiciana,  226 
Julian,  109 

Justinian  I.,  14,  33-37,  61,  64, 
123,  160 

Justus,  74 

Leander,  St.,  68,  100,  102,  121, 
157,  176 

Leo  the  Great,  St.,  128,  227, 
238,  244 

Leo  IV.,  113 
Leontius,  208 
Leovigild,  156 

Letters  of  St.  Gregory,  103, 
239-252,  255 

Libertinus,  208 

Lombards,  58,  101,  132,  143-154 

Macedonius,  227,  2-33 
Mann,  Mgr.,  79 
Marinianus,  78,  88,  106,  134-6, 
251 

Maurice,  69,  95,  102,  193;  205, 
210-221 

Maximianus,  70,  91,  106,  126, 
212,  250 

Melitus,  St.,  169,  171 
Menas,  131 

Moralia,  45,  63,  77,  90,  238,  236 

Narses,  14,  18,  37,  143 
Natalis  of  Salona.  137-9,  212 
Nestorius,  233 

Occleatinus,  129 
Odoacer,  13 
Ozauam,  103 

[169,  214 

Pallium,  107,  120,  133,  138,  161, 
Pamphronius,  58 
PaschaMus  of  Naple-s,  130 
Pastoral  Rule,  102  6, 117,  121,255 
Patriarch,  120,  226,  228,  231 


Patrimony  of  St.  Peter,  111, 
183,  204 

Paul  the  Deacon,  28,  90,  251,  253 
Paulinus,  St.,  155,  169 
Pelagius  II.,  11,  16,  36,  71,  91, 
95,  145,  229 
Peter,  Rector  in  Sicily,  106,  108, 
132,  187-194,  200,  225,  249,  254 
Phocas,  219-224 
Picenius  of  Amalfi,  131 
Pretiosus,  75,  250 
Primates,  120,  123,  172,  226 
Probus,  112 
Procopius,  61 

Reccared,  155,  157,  201 
Rusticiana,  239 

Sabinian,  213,  231-2,  254 
Sacramentary,  61,  115 
Secundus,  136 
Serenus  of  Marseilles,  23 
Slaves,  54,  82,  163,  195-200,  307 
Smith,  O.S.B.,  153 
Stations,  116 

Syagrius  of  Autun,  131,  161 
Sylverius,  St.,  35 
Sylvia,  28,  38,  49 

Tacitus,  11 
Tarsilla,  30 

Tlieoctista,  70,  99,  109,  241,  245 
Tlieodolind,  146,  151,  152 
Theodora,  34 
Theodore,  70,  246 
Theodoric,  13-24 
Thomas  and  Montana,  198,  239 
Three  Chapters,  34,  38,  91,  227, 
Tiberius  II.,  67-69  [231 

Totila,  14-18 

Venantius,  83  83 

Vicar  Apostolic,  121,  126,  160 

Vigilius,  34-36 

Virgilius  of  Arles,  121,  ICO, 
171,  201 

Visigoths,  142,  155  160 
Visits  ad  limina,  87,  125,  240 

Zeno,  St.,  92 
Zotto,  92 


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